The last word of the defendant Vladimir Kochnev in Orenburg

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Vladimir Kochnev in Orenburg

July 26, 2023

Orenburg region

The believer told the court about the laws of the Creator's love, according to which Jehovah's Witnesses try to live, so he concluded: "Everything connected with extremist motives is unacceptable, absurd and ridiculous for me. What the prosecution attributes to me is completely contrary to my Christian principles."

Transcript of the court session in the Industrial District Court of Orenburg dated 26.07.2023 on the case 1-1/2023 (1-2/2022; 1-139/2021; 1-62/2020; 1-501/2019) on the accusation of Vladimir Yurievich Kochnev and others . in committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Kochnev Vladimir Yurievich:

Dear participants of the process, I want to thank all of you for your patience. The consideration of our criminal case cannot be called simple. All of us have spent many days of our lives to understand the subtleties related to our criminal case, so that a respected court would have the opportunity to make a fair decision. We all wanted to keep a calm working environment, and it's very nice that most of the time it was.

I am very grateful to my wife, Gala. She was always there. From the first day she supported me while I was in jail and under house arrest. She is a wonderful person, in whom I am absolutely sure!

I want to thank my lawyer, who has been my defender since the very first day. From the day of the search in my apartment until now, he was ready to make great sacrifices for the sake of justice, constantly overcoming long distances. Thanks also to my lawyer by appointment, who did not remain indifferent to my defense.

I also want to thank my friends and co-religionists who have always been with us since the first session in court.

The morning of May 16, 2018 began very early in our family — with unplanned guests. This is how the criminal prosecution of me as a Jehovah's Witness began, because of which my family also suffered. I can say that this was not something unexpected for us. We understood that although the Supreme Court's decision did not prohibit the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, this decision could be used against ordinary believers. It didn't discourage Galya and me, but it changed our lives a lot. Immediately after my arrest, I spent two and a half months in jail and about two months under house arrest. Until today, I have a preventive measure in the form of a ban on certain actions. I am also included in the Rosfinmonitoring list as an active extremist. I know from my own experience that inclusion in this list complicates life. My bank cards have been blocked for several years. All these five years I could not lead the life of a free man.

On the day of the search and arrest, I was forced to admit my guilt and make a deal with the investigation. From the very beginning, I did not admit my guilt. To plead guilty meant to make a reservation and lie, since I did not commit a crime against the state and did not continue the activities of the banned MRO (Local religious Organization) "Tsentralnaya, Orenburg".

Your Honor, I have been a Jehovah's Witness for about 30 years and I don't imagine my life any other way. Religious beliefs have positively influenced my life and taught me to treat people around me kindly. From the very beginning of studying the Bible, I liked that the basis of the behavior and thinking of a believer is love. Love for whom? One day Jesus Christ was asked: "Teacher! What is the most important commandment in the Law?" Jesus answered: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind — this is the first and most important commandment. The second is similar to it: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39, The Bible ed. Kulakov). In fact, Jesus said that the basis of God's commandments and the basis of Christianity is the love of God and neighbor. As a Jehovah's Witness, as a Christian, that's exactly what I try to do in life.

"Loving my neighbor" is the exact opposite of what I am accused of. I have never had the intention to commit an extremist crime. I have never uttered calls for violence, overthrow of the government, and I have never spoken about the superiority of Jehovah's Witnesses over other religions and social groups. I've never had that in my mind. I want to note that the commandment of Christ says not just "love your neighbor", but "love your neighbor as yourself". What does this mean for me?

God has implanted in us the need to take care of ourselves and have a certain self-respect or self-esteem. One Biblical scholar described him as "a balanced self-love in which there is neither a narcissistic "I am the best" nor a pejorative "I am nothing"." That's exactly how a believer learns to look at himself. And therefore, "loving our neighbors as ourselves" means that we treat them the way we want them to treat us. Such a position completely excludes violence, superiority, incitement to discord or any extremist motives or actions.

It is not typical for a believer to self-actualize through humiliating and insulting other people. He learns to love himself and others. It is interesting that among the commandments of Christ there is an incentive to love those who act unfriendly towards you. In the famous Sermon on the Mount, Christ said: "But I say to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Why can't Jehovah's Witnesses by definition be extremists? The answer is contained in the commandment I quoted. Jehovah's Witnesses learn to love even those who act unfriendly towards them! I want to note that following this commandment is not just the best, but the only effective solution to the problem of hatred and prejudice. It is unpleasant for any of us to hear insults and meet with aggression or something similar. Following the commandments of God, a believer tries to be guided not only by feelings, but also by reason. Therefore, when faced with injustice, Jehovah's Witnesses try to treat people by showing love and never paying back the same coin. This attitude and actions are the complete opposite of what they accuse me and my co—religionists of.

It is perfectly natural for a believer to act respectfully and with love for people, because that is how God created us. The Holy Scripture says about God: "God is love" (1 John 4:8, Synodal translation). He is the very personification of love. This is the main feature of the personality of Godhead. The Creator's love is visible in the way we and the world around us are created. Jehovah God has endowed us with many gifts, without which, in principle, we could live. To have black-and-white vision, not to taste, not to smell, or not to feel the touch of a loved one — it's all not fatal, so one could live. But Jehovah God has endowed us with sense organs that make our life pleasant and diverse. Here in spring — how nature pleases us, a variety of colors, pleasant aromas of flowers, warm sun. Who among us does not dream of a vacation at sea? All these are the gifts of the Creator, which he gave us for life and endowed us with the ability to enjoy this diversity.

As long as I can remember, I have always been a believer. Since childhood, I have been thinking about God, that the world could not have appeared by chance. Although I grew up in a non-religious family, I was sure that there was a Creator. I have always been hurt by injustice and cruelty, and when I started studying the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses, I received an explanation for my questions. The puzzle has developed. I really liked what I was learning. One of the biblical teachings that really affected me is the fact that God has a personal name. His name is Jehovah. That's what he called himself on the pages of the Bible. And addressing him as a person, we can call him by his first name. I liked that Jehovah is the God of love, his plan did not include the suffering of people and not justice, and therefore he promises to eliminate everything that people suffer from.

In addition, I learned that God created not only physical laws and norms for the benefit of people, but also moral norms. Without them, it is impossible to judge what is good and what is evil, and it is impossible to determine how perfect something is. In this regard, I want to quote the conclusion made in one encyclopedia: "What man has achieved (in establishing norms) is not in any way comparable to the norms that exist in nature. Constellations, orbits of planets, immutability (under normal conditions) of conductivity, ductility, elasticity, hardness, permeability, refraction, strength and viscosity of natural materials... or the structure of cells are just a few examples of striking standardization in nature… Only thanks to the standardization that exists in nature, it becomes possible to recognize and classify ... many species of plants, fish, birds and animals. Within these species, individual specimens are similar to each other to the smallest detail in structure, function and habits characteristic of each species. If such standardization were not observed in the human body, doctors would not know whether the patient has certain organs and where to look for them... Moreover, without the norms existing in nature, there would be no organized society, no education, no medicine, because all this directly depends on the similarity of the fundamental properties" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1959. Vol. 21. pp. 306, 307).

In His creation, God lovingly laid constancy. For example, we make plans in the absolute certainty that day turns into night and night into day, and therefore we make plans with confidence in the future, without experiencing painful uncertainty. God laid down the same principle in relation to moral laws. He established norms regulating human relations with the Creator and with each other. It is the presence of such norms that gives a believer an incentive to act morally and honestly, even if it is very difficult or unprofitable. It is respect for the norms established by God that would not allow me to commit the crime of which I am accused. I have not shown hatred, and I have never had any extremist motives and actions.

Among the norms of God described in the Bible, there are norms concerning the attitude to state authorities, which every Jehovah's Witness tries to observe. For example, the famous words are written in the Bible: "Give Caesar's things to Caesar." Jesus Christ said these words when they wanted to take him at his word and convict him of disrespect for the Roman power that existed at that time. The words "give Caesar's to Caesar" show that Christians observe the laws of the state in which they live: they pay taxes, treat the authorities with respect. Observing these words, Jehovah's Witnesses do not interfere in politics and strive to comply with the laws, rather than seek opportunities to violate them.

The Bible also says: "Every person must obey the authorities... Those invested with power are terrible not for good deeds, but for evil ones. Do you want not to be afraid of the authorities? Do good and get their approval… And therefore it is necessary to obey not only out of fear of punishment, but also out of conscience… Give everyone their due, be it taxes or taxes, honor or respect" (Romans 1:1, 3, 5, 7, The Bible ed . Kulakov). As a Jehovah's Witness, I try to treat the state authorities in this way. Interestingly, in these words, the Bible encourages respect for authority according to conscience, and not out of fear of punishment. A conscience trained in accordance with the moral norms recorded in the Bible helps me, as a believer, to show respect for authority and not to look for an opportunity to violate something. I want to emphasize that it is my conscience before God that helps me to respect the authorities. And it is for this reason that I would not continue the activities of the banned MRO "Tsentralnaya, Orenburg". I did not violate the ban imposed on legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. I did not do it, and I had no such intention and desire.

Someone is trying hard to call my exercise of the right to freedom of religion (constitutional law) a continuation of the prohibited activities of the MRO. I would like to note that there is not a single confirmation in the volumes of the criminal case that I wanted to continue the prohibited activities of the MRO. There is not a single word, not a single action! Everything that is recorded in the case was simply the exercise of the right to worship God in accordance with one's religion, which is not prohibited in Russia. And the actual continuation of the prohibited activity would be meaningless. Before I joined the MRO, I professed my faith in a religious group. My spiritual needs have never been met in the MRO. After the liquidation of legal entities, I simply exercised the right to worship God in accordance with the right guaranteed by the Constitution and had no intention of violating the law of the state.

Over the past five years of criminal prosecution, I have seen many manifestations of love, humanity and kindness. There was always family, friends and co-religionists nearby. Even while in jail, I repeatedly heard words of encouragement from fellow inmates. Some of them know Jehovah's Witnesses well and expressed bewilderment about their criminal prosecution for their faith.

For example, after my arrest, I spent several days in the IVS while the issue of the measure of restraint was being resolved. It just so happened that I was there with the same person. He had a rich prison record, and this was reflected in his speech and tattooed body. He was always trying to figure out why I was being persecuted. He said: "Everything is clear with me, but what are you for? Don't worry, the judge will sort it out. You will be released." So he tried to cheer me up, although he didn't know much about the history of Jehovah's Witnesses. Indeed, for those cases in which I am accused, they do not judge, since there is no crime event in my actions. This man had a wealth of experience in court proceedings, where there was something to judge, and it seemed to him that if there was nothing, then the judge would see it with the naked eye and immediately release me. But he knows nothing about the courts, where they are tried for actions that are not a crime, but are brought to a "crime". Such convicts have been called victims of political repression in history. And I understand that today I and my co-religionists found themselves in the dock precisely for these political reasons.

During these five years, my wife Galya and I have seen many manifestations of love and care from the side of co-religionists. In addition to words of support, we saw a physical manifestation of love and care. For example, from the first day of the trial, as a measure of restraint, there were always those in the courtroom and near the courthouse who were not indifferent to what we were being tried for, and they supported us with their physical presence. About 160 meetings have taken place in our process alone, and we have never been left alone or abandoned. Heat, cold, covid or other obstacles were not an obstacle for our friends to show us Christian love! I didn't know some of them personally, and I didn't know some of them intimately, but they gave us strength with their presence and words of encouragement. I am very proud of these people! I saw firsthand how the words of Jesus Christ are applied in life. The night before he died , he said: "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have fallen in love with you, so you love each other. Everyone will know that you are My disciples if you love one another" (John 13:34, 35, New Russian translation). Christ said that selfless, selfless love is a distinctive feature of his followers. And now, more than ever, I am sure that my co-religionists show exactly this kind of love.

In the pre-trial detention center, I saw many cases when prisoners were very worried because they were left alone. Some of them were forgotten not only by friends, but also by relatives — they did not come on dates and did not write letters. Uncertainty and loneliness always overwhelm a person who is in an information vacuum. But it was much easier for me. Why? I was supported by my family and co-religionists. While in jail, I received hundreds of letters from Russia and other countries. There were not only words of support, but also beautiful nature photos and children's drawings with smiles and good wishes. All this moved to tears. My cellmates often asked me if I knew those who wrote me letters. I said that these are my co-religionists who worry about me and try to support me in some way, but I do not know them personally, I have never seen or met them. All this gave a lot of strength, because this is a real manifestation of love, sympathy and care!

Your Honor, I want to tell you once again that I did not commit the crime that I am charged with. The fact is that everything connected with extremist motives is unacceptable, absurd and ridiculous for me. What the prosecution attributes to me is completely contrary to my Christian principles. As I have already said, the Bible encourages us to show love to people, even to enemies, as Christ said. Therefore, accusations of inciting discord, superiority over anyone are simply absurd and groundless.

It's a little strange for me to hear accusations of extremism addressed to me, because studying the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses has positively affected my life and relationships with people. If I had a tendency to humiliate others in some way, to show superiority over someone on religious grounds or to condemn the views of other people, then first of all this would manifest itself in relations with relatives. Not all of my relatives are Jehovah's Witnesses. My mom is not a Jehovah's Witness. My father is not a Jehovah's Witness. Gali's mom is also not a Jehovah's Witness. My uncle Alexander was a convinced Orthodox man. Tatiana, Gali's daughter, and her husband Dima also hold other religious views. Does this prevent you from building family relationships? Does not interfere in any way. It's just that we respect their right to choose, and they respect ours. The difference in views not only did not divide us as relatives, but on the contrary, in recent years our relations have become closer, and this is thanks to my faith, in which high moral principles and respect for others prevail. I have never had the urge to break off my relationship with any of my relatives, because I love my family, and religious views have never been a cause of discord.

Faith in God has had a positive impact on my life. For example, I avoided the addictions and addictions that those with whom I communicated before studying the Bible got into. What I learned influenced my character, qualities and relationships with people. I'm not idealizing myself or anyone else, but the Bible calls out for the best in man. The respected State Prosecutor has said several times that acts of kindness and humanity, including in families, are completely natural. And it's hard to argue with that. It is perfectly natural to love family, parents, children, and show respect for the elderly. At least we all want it to be so. But, unfortunately, as often happens, we do not see such an attitude around. How often people do not show natural love and respect for each other and even in the family circle! That's why there are so many divorces, so many single-parent families, so many crimes. All this fulfills the words of Jesus Christ about our time. He said: "And the multiplication of evil will cool the love of many" (Matthew 24:12, New Russian translation). First of all, people have lost their love for God and his just norms. But in many people, the love for each other has also cooled. And what should be natural, should be the norm, unfortunately, is becoming rare. That's exactly why I said that it is the Bible that helps me to do the right thing, because what is natural does not mean that people do it. The Bible encourages a person to become better.

A believer has more incentives to do the right thing. For example, the Bible says that God Jehovah endowed man with such a gift as conscience. This is an inner judge, an inner voice that weighs and evaluates our actions and thoughts ... A person can step over himself or the opinions of other people, but there is a conscience before God, which is a brake not to do something bad, and vice versa, works as an engine to do good. This thought has always helped me navigate my life according to biblical principles.

If I hadn't studied the Bible, my life would have been different. And I wouldn't want the way it would most likely have developed. Now I not only do not regret my choice, I am very glad that I am a Jehovah's Witness, and this, I am convinced, is not a crime.

The Bible helped me to believe that God is not just an abstract force, indifferent to us. No, Jehovah God is a person who loves us. The Bible helped me to understand that to act with dignity is to show love to people, even if they do not behave kindly. The Bible helped me understand that there are people who actually try to act like Christians. The Bible has helped me to change my life, which contains a firm, secure confidence in the future! A life in which there will no longer be a place for violence, unjust condemnation and persecution for the faith.

I do not know the answer to the question of what the court's decision will be and what awaits me after your verdict is announced, but I know for sure that Christian love has already conquered fear and injustice. The love and courage of Jehovah's Witnesses in the face of Nazism in Germany and mass repressions in the USSR defeated these regimes, and they are a thing of the past, and Jehovah's Witnesses continue their course in history. And this story is being written today, at our trial. The question remains: will justice prevail in court?

Summary of the case

Region:

Orenburg region

Locality:

Orenburg

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, he conducted divine services together with others, which is interpreted as "organizing and participating in the activities of an extremist organization"

Criminal case number:

11802530021000017

Initiated:

May 14, 2018

Current stage of the case:

proceedings in the court of first instance

Investigates:

SU IC of the Russian Federation in the Orenburg region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2), 282.3 (1), 282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-1/2023 (1-2/2022; 1-139/2021; 1-62/2020; 1-501/2019)

Court:

Industrial District Court of Orenburg

Judge:

Diana Sudorgina