But aside from the legal dangers such an escape attempt would pose, Okhotin says there is a “moral side” to his insistence on staying in Moscow and facing his charges.

“I have to stand tall,” he says. “Personally, what I’m doing right now is my only option.”

Web of Support

Okhotin says he initially approached his situation on a religious level.

“When it first happened I notified people immediately and I said, ‘Please pray,’” he says.

This was an avenue which those in his evangelical circle picked up on, and which continues to be vigorously pursued.

Chanta Bhan, an HDS student who is a former leader of HDS Christian Fellowship, of which Okhotin is a member, organized a 12-hour prayer vigil in late May, which she says involved between 50 and 100 people across the country and in Russia.

And Susan Clark, who knows Okhotin through his work at his father’s ministry, says the case has ignited the vast network of evangelical Christians in the United States.

Requests to pray for Okhotin’s safety and freedom—and for the souls of the Russian officials involved—have appeared in numerous Christian publications both in print and on the web, she says.

Okhotin also says he wrote many letters of appeal on his own in the early stages of his detainment.

But he soon decided that this was not enough, he says.

“It became obvious that there was no accountability within the Russian system,” says Okhotin.

And since they made contact with each other this spring, Okhotin and Sonnenberg pushed for massive letter-writing campaigns by private citizens and prominent officials.

“If you’re put into a dark room and people attack you, you ask that they turn on the light at least so this can become public knowledge,” Okhotin says.

Sonnenberg also stresses the importance of putting Okhotin’s case in the public eye.