A Danish Jehovahs Witness has been released from Russian prison five years after he became the first member of the religious group to be jailed on extremism charges in Russia, the organizationsaid Tuesday.Dennis Christensen, 49, wasarrested at a prayer meeting in the city of Oryol south of Moscow in May 2017, a month after Russias Supreme Court accused the Jehovahs Witnesses of propaganda of exclusivity and labeled it a banned extremist organization.An Oryol court sentenced Christensen to six years in prison in 2019.With two years deducted from his sentence for time spent in pre-trial detention, he was released after spending a total of five years in Russian jail.Some 62 of the 625 persecuted adherents of the pacifist Christian denomination have been sentenced to prison since Russia banned the group, according to the Jehovahs Witnesses in Russias database.International human rights NGOs have condemned Russias crackdown on the Jehovahs Witnesses in recent years.In the Soviet era, the group's refusal to take up arms and serve in the military led the state to prosecute followers for anti-communist activities by exiling thousands to Siberia.The Jehovahs Witnesses organization told The Moscow Times ahead of Christensens anticipated release that he is to be deported and should arrive in Denmark on Wednesday.Russian authorities havestopped Dennis from being released before, thus we remain cautiously optimistic, it said Monday.