The deportation of Leo Martensson, who had worked in Russia as a missionary for nine years, was ordered Tuesday and his visa was canceled, according to the Keston Institute. The institute monitors religious liberty in former Soviet-bloc countries.
“This was an illegal decision — there is no basis for it,” Martensson’s lawyer, Aleksandr Antipyonok, told Keston. The move came on the day that a Polish-born Catholic priest was barred re-entry into the country.
Martensson was also fined 500 rubles. His wife and daughter are still in Russia.
