The last word of the defendant Agnes Postnikova in Birobidzhan

 RUSSIA

 

The last word of the defendant Agnes Postnikova in Birobidzhan

July 10, 2023

Jewish JSC

The believer told about the repressions to which her ancestors were subjected, and why extremism is alien to her: "My whole gut resists what is a manifestation of extremism because of how much irreparable grief it has brought to my family and millions of other people."

Transcript of the court session in the Birobidzhan District Court of the EAO dated 10.07.2023 in the case 1-39/2023 (1-718/2022) on charges of Agnes Davydovna Postnikova and Oleg Vladimirovich Postnikov of committing a crime under Parts 1.1 and 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Postnikova Agnes Davydovna:

Dear Court!

Thank you for this opportunity — the last time in this process to appeal to the court. Usually in this part, the defendant is expected to hear words of remorse and a request for clemency. And if I had done something illegal, then I would, of course, regret it, I would ask for forgiveness and leniency. But I'm not a criminal! I didn't do anything that caused bad consequences. And I want to use the last word to try to influence the court's decision for the last time. I would be very grateful if you, Your Honor, and all the participants in the process, would listen to me carefully.

Your Honor, the prosecutor has requested a 5—year suspended sentence for me. What have I done? I was just answering a man's questions about the Bible. I have never been a member of the MRO of Jehovah's Witnesses, but I have been practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses for a very long time. And today the Constitution gives the right both to profess this religion and to spread their beliefs. Therefore, Your Honor, I believe that, in fact, the prosecution wants to punish me for believing in God, for my religion and for good deeds. But the saddest thing is that a story that seemed to never happen again is repeating itself. What do I mean by that?

I will quote the words of Dmitry Medvedev, said in 2009 during a solemn ceremony: "Today is the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repression. [...] It is impossible to imagine the scale of terror from which all the peoples of the country have suffered. [...] This is a Day of remembrance of millions of crippled destinies. About people shot without trial and without investigation, about people sent to camps and exile, deprived of civil rights for the "wrong" occupation or for the notorious "social origin". [...] Let's just think about it: millions of people have died as a result of terror and false accusations. Millions were deprived of all rights. Even the rights to a decent human burial, for many years their names were simply erased from history."

With these words, Dmitry Medvedev urged all of us to think seriously about what happened during one of the darkest periods of our history, when millions of our compatriots were subjected to the most severe repression. Unfortunately, this injustice has also affected my family.

It so happened that my grandparents lived in Western Ukraine. It was 1936, the eve of the Second World War. Ordinary people, ordinary families. And so the repression began… My father was 5 years old when strangers came one night, took his father away and then killed him. The family wasn't even allowed to bury him. What kind of "crime" did he commit? And there was no crime. It was just a matter of nationality. He was German. Grandfather's wife was also of German descent. Although the grandmother was not arrested, her husband, house, and all her property were taken away from her, and she and her children were sent to Kazakhstan, where it was necessary to start all over again. There was no housing, dug dugouts. They suffered hunger and cold. In addition to the inhumane living conditions, my father suffered bullying from childhood because of his German origin. He said that he was constantly called "Fritz", "fascist". Because of this, he didn't want to go outside. This emotional trauma haunted him for a long time. And not only him. The whole grandfather's family lived with the label of "unreliable" people just because they were Germans. Unable to withstand the harsh living conditions, my grandmother on my father's side died shortly after being deported to Kazakhstan.

My grandparents on my mother's side in the same 1936, having taken away the house, farm and all property, were also evicted to Kazakhstan. My mother was about five years old at that time. The reason for the eviction was still the same — "you are Germans." And "since the Germans are the enemies of the people." Mom told how their family was unloaded into the steppe, where there were adobe "houses" without windows and doors. Instead of a roof — straw, sprinkled with earth. The living conditions were very difficult. A year after the expulsion, my grandfather died, and a few more years later, my grandmother, my mother's parents, also died. Thus, as a result of the repressions, both my mother and my father, as children, were orphaned. In order not to starve to death, they went from house to house and begged, or agreed to any job for food. And everywhere they were pursued by the label "children of enemies of the people".

Fortunately, those repressions stopped, and we lived to the time when people of all backgrounds and views were equalized in rights. And it seemed to me that this dark page of history would never happen again. It seemed... in reality, my husband and I are sitting in the dock. Not because of nationality, of course. And not because of the fact that they committed illegal actions. And because of the religion we chose, which was labeled with another modern label — "extremists". This is really a label, because in fact Jehovah's Witnesses do not pose a danger to anyone. They are well known for trying to live by biblical principles. It is for this reason that they reject all forms of violence, obey secular laws and strive for peace in all areas of life.

This was confirmed by the respected religious scholar Sergey Ivanenko in his book "About People who never Part with the Bible", which we investigated in the trial. Here are some thoughts: "Against the background of the aggravation of ethnic contradictions and intolerance characteristic of modern Russia, the fact that representatives of all races and peoples peacefully get along among Jehovah's Witnesses looks encouraging."

"Jehovah's Witnesses do not resort to violence, work conscientiously, pay taxes honestly, as a rule have strong friendly families. Living according to biblical principles, they are reliable workers, good neighbors, caring parents. They do not impose their views on anyone. To listen to their sermon or not is a matter of conscience and free choice of every person."

In modern Russian legislation, the actions that were committed against my grandparents and their children are classified as extremist actions, that is, they are regarded as illegal. What attitude have I formed towards such cases? The story that happened to my family taught me that it is wrong to treat others with prejudice because of their origin, religion or social status. It can be said that all the actions listed in the law as extremist cause me allergies. This means that my whole gut is opposed to everything that is a manifestation of extremism because of how much irreparable grief it has brought to my family and millions of other people. I shun everything that is even remotely related to extremism.

On the other hand, the injustice that my grandparents faced gave rise to many questions in my head: why were my relatives treated so cruelly? Why are people declared enemies and made outcasts just because they belong to another nation? It's not their fault that they were born Germans and could not influence it in any way. Why is there so much injustice, grief, evil and suffering in life? Why do people fail to live peacefully and amicably? At first I didn't find the answers to these questions. Later, reading the Bible, I realized why this is happening.

I didn't believe in God, especially that he could be loving. But my mother was a believer since childhood, and we often talked about this topic. What helped me to believe in God? The principle is recorded, oddly enough, in the Bible, in a Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 3, verse 4. It says: "Every house has its own builder." I fully agreed with this and thought it was logical. After all, no house will appear without a builder. Then the thought continues with the words "and the builder of the universe is God." And I thought: this is also logical! If a builder is needed to build a house, the more complex the universe must have a builder. I'm surrounded by so much! I couldn't disagree with these arguments.

Even Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov said: "The Creator gave the human race two books. In one he showed His greatness, in the other he showed His Will. The first is this visible world, created by Him. The second book is the Holy Scripture." The Book of Creation has provided me with irrefutable facts that God exists. The second book — the Holy Scripture (or the Bible) — helped me to know God as a person: what qualities he has, intentions regarding the earth and people, and also why he allows so much evil and suffering.

In fact, our history is recorded in the Bible — the history of all mankind. There are also many prophecies. Some have already been fulfilled, others are being fulfilled right before our eyes. And some are about to be fulfilled. This is very comforting to me and gives me hope that Jehovah God will radically change life on earth for the better. And extremism and terrorism will be done away with forever.

I completely agree with the words of A. S. Pushkin: "I think we will never give the people anything better than Scripture… Without him there would be no philosophy, no poetry, no morality. Its taste becomes clear when you start reading the Scripture, because you find all human life in it. The Bible is universal… Here is the only book in the world — it has everything." For me, the Bible is a letter from heavenly Father, and I love to read it over and over again. This helps me to better follow God's commandments and act out of love.

Studying the Bible, I gradually got answers to all my questions about injustice and suffering. I saw that God is not to blame for human troubles and misfortunes. Behind all suffering, including extremism, according to the Bible, there is an evil angel called Satan and the Devil. He rebelled against the rule of God and the first people joined him. Learning all this, I understood how important it is to obey the Creator. It helped to change, because I wanted to be really happy, and without obedience it is impossible.

Understanding why suffering is happening today and that God will soon intervene, restore order, helps me to feel more calm about criminal prosecution. Knowing that God has nothing to do with this, but, on the contrary, sympathizes and comforts, gives me emotional strength and encourages me to appreciate and cherish my relationship with heavenly Father even more.

Extremist crimes are committed out of hatred. The prosecution did not provide evidence that I had this terrible motive. Of course, I don't know what would have happened to my life if I hadn't studied with God. But when I began to study the Bible, one feature of God especially struck me and greatly influenced my personality. "God is love," the Bible says (First Letter of John, chapter 4, verse 8). That is, love is the essence of God's personality and all his works are imbued with love. And love is, as you know, the opposite of hate.

The son of God, Jesus Christ, living on earth, in all his words and actions also reflected the love that he learned from his Father Jehovah. Sparing no effort, he helped people: he treated the sick, fed the hungry, resurrected the dead. But most importantly, he talked about the hope for a better life under the rule of the Kingdom of God.

Personally, the prospect of the resurrection of the dead is especially dear to me. After all, the repressions and their consequences took away all my grandparents. I've never seen them, and I missed them so much! I wanted so much to go, like other children, to visit them for the weekend, sit on their laps, cuddle up to them, feel their warm, caring hands. Taste delicious grandma's pies, stay together and just listen to their stories.

It is very sad that death puts a fat end, interrupting all our affairs, plans, relationships, feelings… But God can turn this point into an ellipsis, that is, "to be continued." For us (people), death is the end. Not for God. For him, it's just a long sleep. At the appointed time, he will begin to bring the dead back to life, and we will meet them.

When I learned about the hope of resurrection, it changed my whole life, gave real meaning, warmed my heart. The opportunity to meet with your relatives is another gift that testifies to God's tender love for us, earthly children.

Your Honor, you probably noticed while watching the video that it was about the resurrection that we talked especially often. I really like to talk about this wonderful hope. But can this be considered a crime? How can this knowledge encourage something evil, bad, criminal? Of course not!

When I reflect on how God has shown love, my heart overflows with love and gratitude. A well-known saying goes: "Tell me who your friend is, and I'll tell you who you are." That is, we tend to adopt the qualities, manners and habits of our friends. Interestingly, in the Bible, God calls himself a friend, so he wants not just to be worshipped, but to be friends with him. My friendship with God began more than 40 years ago, from the moment I received water baptism. Although the prosecution interprets this action as joining an extremist organization, there are no grounds for such an assumption. In fact, many years of friendship with Jehovah helped me to adopt his wonderful qualities and become kind, friendly and attentive. There is no place for hatred in the heart of Jehovah God and his Son Jesus Christ. Therefore, I also reject hatred and try to show love to everyone.

Everyone knows that a foreign body (for example, a splinter) causes an inflammatory process, suppuration and causes great suffering. Similarly, extremism based on hatred is like a foreign body in human society. All the actions listed in the first article of the Federal Law as extremist cause pain and far-reaching sad consequences. Society suffers greatly from such manifestations. But my actions had nothing to do with extremism. On the contrary, if I committed extremist actions, I would, first of all, sin against God, and for me this is unthinkable. After all, from time immemorial, God has warned the human family against hatred and strife. Unfortunately, people rarely listened. And as a result, the world was filled with violence, injustice, disobedience and disrespect. Jesus said that while people in general will be callous, his followers, on the contrary, will be distinguished by love: "Everyone will know that you are My disciples if you love one another" (John 13:35). Of course, such love will not come by itself. It needs to be developed. I have been trying to do this for more than 40 years. How?

People have been racking their brains for centuries trying to explain what love is. But the Bible 2000 years ago recorded a beautiful and precise definition of love: "Love is patient and kind, not envious and not boastful, not proud, not rude, not selfish, not irritable and not vindictive. Love does not gloat over the sins of others, but finds pleasure in the truth. Love always supports, always trusts, always hopes, endures everything. Love has no end" (First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13, verses 4-8, Jewish New Testament). True love always manifests itself in deeds. And hatred also manifests itself in deeds. Some of the actions that hatred leads to [can be equated with] extremist activity. God's love is the exact opposite of hate. Therefore, reflecting on the many facets of such love helped me to change. Developing such love, I am engaged in the prevention of extremism.

Usually, if someone loves us and out of love does us a lot of good, we cannot remain silent. We only talk about this person. Could I keep silent when I found out how much God and Jesus love us? No, of course not. Also, having learned the message of hope from the Bible, I could not keep silent about it and not tell anyone. Is it possible to consider the hope for a happy future as extremism? And if I shared this hope with others? Neither from the point of view of common sense, nor from the point of view of the Federal Law on Extremist Activity, this is not extremism.

Although, having been subjected to criminal prosecution, I could develop hatred for accusers in my heart, instead I want (and I also pray for this) that everyone (both prosecutors and court employees) get to know our loving heavenly Father and find out how sensitive, merciful and caring he is. And that only thanks to him, life is filled with meaning, joy and happiness.

And, of course, my final words will be addressed to you, Olga Vladimirovna. Your Honor, I would like to sincerely thank you for scheduling the court sessions in such a way that my husband and I could prepare well at every stage of the process. My future fate is now in your hands. I am very worried and understand that there is a possibility that the decision you have made may radically change my life. After all, if you satisfy the prosecutor's demand, I will be convicted as an extremist. That is why I have prayed a lot and continue to pray for you. Unfortunately, no one can see another person's heart. I also don't see your thoughts, intentions. But the Bible says that God searches the hearts of all people, so He sees your heart, including your thoughts and intentions.  Therefore, I fervently pray that God will help you to act justly and make the only right decision — to justify.

Your Honor, I have spent most of my life trying to live honestly and decently before God, before the state, and before people. And as for this criminal case, I have never been a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses MRO in Birobidzhan and the Jehovah's Witnesses Management Center. And talking to the witness Kabak L. P., I didn't commit anything criminal either. Although the prosecution used this witness to prove my guilt, we all heard with our own ears how Lyudmila Pavlovna stated several times that we did not involve her in an extremist organization, but, on the contrary, she found us herself and asked us to come to her to talk about biblical topics. In addition, this accusation and litigation causes serious damage to my reputation, brings enormous emotional suffering and irreparable harm to my health.

Therefore, I ask you, Your Honor, to understand thoroughly so as not to give way to the gloomy machine of religious repression. My conscience is clear before God, before people and before the court. I am not ashamed of my beliefs, which encourage me to lead a respectable lifestyle. Please make a fair acquittal in this case and protect me from criminal prosecution.

Summary of the case

Region:

Jewish AO

Locality:

Birobidzhan

What is suspected:

according to the investigation, "he took an active part in conducting religious events for study and dissemination... ideology"

Criminal case number:

12007990001000009

Initiated:

February 12, 2020

The current stage of the case:

the appeal

is being investigated by:

The Federal Security Service of Russia for the Jewish Autonomous Region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2), 282.2 (1.1)

Case number in court:

1-39/2023 (1-718/2022)

Court:

Birobidzhansky District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region

Judge of the trial court:

Olga Klyuchikova