The last word of the defendant Sergei Tolokonnikov in Moscow

 Russia

 

The last word of the defendant Sergei Tolokonnikov in Moscow

July 11 , 2023

Moscow

The believer told the court about the persecution of Christians of the first century, who considered it their duty to talk to others about God. Sergey drew a parallel: "Because of the desire to teach, to help people to know God, to share the spiritual treasures that I learned from the Bible, I am now in custody and I am accused of extremism."

Transcript of the court session in the Savelovsky District Court of Moscow dated 11.07.2023 in the case 01-0123/2023 (01-0997/2022) on charges of Tolokonnikov Sergey Alexandrovich and others. in committing a crime under Part 1 and Part 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Tolokonnikov Sergey Alexandrovich:

Your Honor, I want to begin my address with words of gratitude to my wife, Maria, and my friends. My dear and beloved Masha, thank you for your love, for your help, support and care for me during this difficult period of life for us! "He who has found a good wife has found good and has received grace from the Lord" (Proverbs 18:22). Thank you, my love!

I also want to thank my friends. During my time in custody, I received more than 3,000 letters, and in each of them words of support, wishes to remain faithful to God, to be a kind and generous person. And what was especially pleasant to read was that in every letter I was assured that they were praying for us. Thank you very much!

I also want to express my gratitude to you, my friends, that you came to the Savelovsky Court for every meeting on our criminal case. Your smiles, kind words and joyful faces cause me strong positive emotions, and this helps me cope with the injustice that has surrounded me since my arrest.

I will not forget how you and my wife waited until 01:30 at night near the court for our departure to prison, approached the car and began to sing for us the song "We have discovered the source of happiness." It was very touching, I almost cried from the overwhelming feelings. Thank you, my dears. You are my family! In the Bible, in the book of Proverbs, the 17th chapter, the 17th verse, it is written: "A friend loves at all times and, like a brother, will appear in time of adversity." You are my real brothers and sisters.

Many thanks to my lawyer Bogdanov Anton Nikolaevich. You are a true professional and your work deserves the most sincere praise and appreciation. You have actively defended my constitutional right to profess the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses. You have given convincing arguments and proofs of my innocence. In my criminal case, there are no victims, no harm, no damage. You have shown very well during the trial that I am being tried for my faith in God Jehovah, and not for a criminal offense. I am in custody only because I am a Jehovah's Witness, have religious beliefs and openly share knowledge from the Bible with people. I want to dwell in more detail on my motives, which prompted me to go to people and tell the truth from the Bible about the God Jehovah.

Your Honor, agree that when we find out about something important, we rush to tell it to others. We try to share what has helped us and can benefit someone else. And if we imagine that we have learned information that can save someone's life, for example, about an impending natural disaster or fire, will we be silent? Of course not! We understand that if we don't warn others, someone may get hurt or even die. It was these feelings that prompted me to talk about the name of God with people and about the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth. I was driven by love for Jehovah and for my neighbors. As recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 22, verses 37 to 39: "Jesus said to him, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind': This is the first and greatest commandment; The second is similar to it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself myself"".

I want to help people get to know and know Jehovah. I tell people that by observing God's commandments, for example, "don't lie", "don't steal", "don't kill", you can become happier and your life will change for the better.

I cannot remain silent about what I have read in the Bible. In the exemplary prayer "Our Father", which is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, verse 9, Jesus Christ uttered these words: "The Father who is in heaven. Hallowed be Thy name." But in order to sanctify this name, it must first be recognized. The theme of the sacred name of Jehovah runs like a red thread through all the books of the Bible. The name of his Father was glorified by Jesus Christ himself, thereby setting an example to his followers, Christians. In the Bible, in the Book of the Prophet Joel, chapter 2, verse 32, translated by the Orthodox priest Archimandrite Macarius, it is written: "But then whoever calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved." According to this verse, whether a person knows the name of God or not may depend on his salvation.

After several centuries, the disciple of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, addressing the Christians of the first century A.D., quoted these words again: "For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." But how can we call upon Someone in whom we do not believe? How to believe in Someone you haven't heard of? How can one hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:13, 14). Pay attention, Your Honor, how to hear about the name of God without a preacher? I am a Christian, and like the Christians of the first century AD, I cannot but preach about the name of Jehovah, about the coming of the Kingdom of God to earth and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the human race. I, like Christians of the first century, consider this information vital and therefore I preach it, that is, I tell people.

The famous religious scholar S. I. Ivanenko in his book "About people who never part with the Bible" wrote: "Jehovah's Witnesses feel like people who know the truth and therefore are obliged to inform everyone else about it. Even if the reward is not gratitude, but ridicule."

Back in the 1st century A.D., Jesus Christ himself warned his disciples that they would face persecution and trials because of preaching. In John 15:20, 21 and 16:2, 3 you can read his words: "Remember the word that I said to you: a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will also keep yours; But they will do all these things to you for my name, because they do not know Who sent me [...] They will drive you out of the synagogues; even the time is coming when everyone who kills you will think that he is serving God. They will do so, because they have not known either the Father or Me."

Why will the disciples of Christ be persecuted? As it is written in the 3rd verse of the 16th chapter: "Because they don't know Me or my Father." And also because we, Jehovah's Witnesses, try to follow the guidance of Jesus Christ and fulfill the task that he entrusted to his disciples: "Go, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you in all days until the end of the century. Amen" (Matthew 28:19, 20).

We also try to live in accordance with the norms of God, work on ourselves, that is, we change as individuals, developing such qualities as the Apostle Paul listed in Galatians 5:22, 23: "The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, mercy, faith, meekness, abstinence. There is no law against them."

And it is precisely because of the desire to teach, to help people to know God, to share the spiritual treasures that I learned from the Bible, that I am now in custody and I am accused of extremism.

Your Honor, I once asked an employee of the convoy: "If Jesus Christ lived on earth now, who would he be considered?" He replied: "An extremist." And this does not surprise me, because almost 2,000 years ago, the Apostle Paul expressed a prophecy recorded in 2 Timothy 3:12: "Yes, and everyone who wants to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

From the very beginning of the formation of the Christian assembly in the 1st century AD (the Greek word translated as "church" literally means "gathering" or "gathering of people"), persecution of believers began. Christians of the first century were ridiculed, humiliated, forbidden to preach, arrested and even killed, but they still continued to teach people about God.

The Sanhedrin (the highest religious and judicial body of the Jews) forbade them to talk about Christ, but they continued to talk about their faith. After a while, all the apostles were brought back to the Sanhedrin and charged: "We have strictly forbidden you to teach in this name, but you have filled the whole of Jerusalem with your teaching and, moreover, accuse us of the death of this man (that is, Jesus Christ)." The apostles answered again: We must obey God more than people! (Acts 5:28, 29).

Your Honor, please note: despite the prohibitions and threats of arrest, the apostles continued to actively preach, and they did it so diligently that, according to the prosecution, "they filled all Jerusalem with the teaching of Jesus Christ." The Sanhedrin made a decision: the apostles were ordered to be flogged, banned from preaching again and released. What was the reaction of the apostles to this judgment? "But they went out of the Sanhedrin rejoicing that they were worthy to receive dishonor for the name of the Lord Jesus; and every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and preach the gospel about Jesus Christ" (Acts 5:41-42).

What did it lead to? In Acts 6:7 we read: "And the word of God grew, and the number of disciples greatly multiplied in Jerusalem; and very many of the priests submitted to the faith." It turns out that the more prohibitions and persecutions there were, the more actively the Christians of the first century AD preached. Of course, this caused discontent among the leaders of the Jewish people and adherents of Judaism. They began to look for people who were ready to give false testimony and become false witnesses, speaking in court against Christians.

Here is an example of Stephen, a Christian of the first century AD. In the Bible, in the book of Acts of the Apostles 6:11-14 it is written: "Then they secretly persuaded several people to say, "We heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." They aroused the people, the elders, and the teachers of the law; suddenly attacking Stephen, they seized him and brought him to the Sanhedrin. They presented false witnesses who said: "This man constantly speaks against the holy temple and against the law." The Sanhedrin is the Supreme Court of the Jews of the first century AD . When Stephen was given the opportunity to speak in his defense, he gave a speech based on the Holy Scriptures, in which he examined the prophecies from the Bible and the history of the Jewish people and explained that he had not violated the Law.

Your Honor, this case is very similar to our criminal case. It also contains false witness testimony, false accusations of committing an extremist crime. We also quote the Bible, trying to answer the question of why we tell people about God. We explain with the help of the Bible that our preaching is a manifestation of love for Jehovah God and for people. But we are often misunderstood and considered criminals who commit a grave crime and deserve severe punishment. Stephen, a Christian of the I century A.D., was killed by throwing stones. And he, dying, asked God not to punish murderers for this sin. "Then he fell to his knees and said loudly, "Lord, do not punish them for this sin." With these words he died" (Acts, chapter 7, verse 60). After this murder, a large-scale persecution of Christians in Jerusalem began. They began to flee from Jerusalem to other cities and territories. This contributed to the fact that more and more people in the Roman Empire began to learn the truth about God and Jesus Christ, as Christians actively testified about their faith. It is written about this in Acts 8:1, 4: "On that day a great persecution began against the Jerusalem church, and all but the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria [...] Meanwhile, Christians, driven out of their places, preached wherever they came."

The apostles of Jesus Christ visited these lands and formed new congregations there, so there were even more Christians. The fact that the teachings of Jesus Christ became widely known in the Roman Empire caused new persecutions, and the persecution intensified. Subsequently, the Apostle Peter, the Apostle John and the Apostle Paul were arrested. Interestingly, the Apostle Paul was accused as the leader of the "sect of the Nazarenes" (the so-called followers of Jesus Christ). Why? Yes, because he was the most active preacher. In the Bible, in the book of Acts of the Apostles 20:20, 21, you can read his words: "How I did not miss anything useful that I would not preach to you and teach you publicly and at home, proclaiming to Jews and Greeks repentance before God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." When the Apostle Paul was arrested, he "appealed to Caesar" in court. That is, he petitioned to be tried by Caesar, the head of the Roman Empire. The Apostle Paul was transferred to Rome, where, while under house arrest awaiting trial, he continued to testify about God's truth.

Your Honor, I would like to draw your attention to his words recorded in the Bible, the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Philippians 1:12-14: "I want you to know, brothers, that everything that happened to me served the success of the proclamation of the Good News. Now all the imperial guards and everyone else know that I am imprisoned for Christ. Thanks to my imprisonment, most of the brothers have strengthened their faith in the Lord and are bolder and more fearless in proclaiming the word of God." These words were spoken in the I century A.D., but they continue to be fulfilled now, in the XXI century.  Nowadays, many employees of the pre-trial detention center, as well as prisoners in custody on the territory of the Russian Federation, receive a certificate of our faith, since since 2017 my co-religionists have been persecuted and imprisoned because of accusations of extremism, although in fact we are being judged for loving God Jehovah, observing God's commandments and for preaching to people of God truths from the Bible. There was a case when Roman and I were once again brought to court and one of the employees of the convoy asked us: "Who are you?" We asked in response: "Why do you ask?" He said: "You don't look like criminals." And we told about ourselves, about our faith and why we were arrested. It turns out that those people who watch us and get to know us better do not consider us villains.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the following at a meeting of the Human Rights Council on December 11 , 2018: "About Jehovah's Witnesses… It is true that we should treat representatives of all religions equally, but still we need to take into account the country and the society in which we live. However, this does not mean at all that we should enroll representatives of religious communities in some destructive, not even that in terrorist organizations. Of course, this is complete nonsense, we need to deal with it carefully, here I agree with you… Jehovah's Witnesses are also Christians, and I don't really understand why they should be persecuted either."

Your Honor, I hope that communication with us during the court sessions, as well as an impartial study of the materials of the criminal case, convinced you that we are not dangerous to society, that we are not extremists and are not guilty of committing a serious crime. There are no victims from our actions, and there cannot be, because we peacefully professed our religion. It is important for us, because it is an integral part of our life.

Please, Your Honor, when making a final decision, take into account all of the above and acquit me and the other defendants.

Summary of the case

Region:

Moscow

Locality:

Moscow

What is suspected:

"they manifested themselves as leaders and communicative leaders of a religious organization, which was expressed in organizing and conducting conversations, controlling the speech activity of the interlocutors, commenting on the fragments of the text being read" (from the resolution on involvement as an accused)

Criminal case number:

12102450011000104

Initiated:

October 20, 2021

Current stage of the case:

The Appeal

is Investigating:

The Department for the investigation of particularly important cases of the SU for the CAO GSU of the IC of the Russian Federation in Moscow

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1.1), 282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

01-0123/2023 (01-0997/2022)

Court of First Instance:

Savelovsky District Court of Moscow

Judge of the Court of First instance:

Dmitry Zozulya