The last word of the defendant Vladimir Balabkin in Belogorsk

 Russia


The last word of the defendant Vladimir Balabkin in Belogorsk

September 13, 2023

Amur region


Vladimir, in his last word, stressed that "there is no evidence" of involvement in extremism against him from the prosecution.: "At our meetings, we read about the beauty of nature, the infinite universe... happy family relationships... and thanked God Jehovah."


Transcript of the court session in the Belogorsky City Court of the Amur Region dated 09/13/2023 in the case 1-292/2023 on charges of Vladimir Moiseevich Balabkin of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.


Balabkin Vladimir Moiseevich:


Your Honor, at the beginning of my last word, I want to express my gratitude. Thank you, Natalia Alfredovna, for making concessions to me in connection with my health, and the meetings lasted no more than two hours. It was very important for my physical health!


I am especially grateful to my friends for their support, for the fact that they showed attention to me and came to every court session in any weather. Many thanks to my relatives and my wife Tatiana for putting their shoulder up and supporting me during this difficult time. And I am also grateful to my lawyer, who throughout the trial showed sincere interest in me and defended me.


Your Honor, all this time I have not hidden that I profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. You can disagree with the faith and the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses, but putting them on a par with extremists, as the President of Russia said, is wrong. After all, my faith and my beliefs are based on the Word of God — the Bible. She just teaches the exact opposite: to love people and act kindly with everyone. Thanks to reading and studying the Bible, I was able to develop in myself the qualities that the Creator wants to see in all people, for example, meekness, kindness, self-control, patience. It has benefited both me and my family.


I have personally seen that the Word of God, the Bible, has a great power to influence people for the better. Thanks to this book, many people get rid of bad habits, from a criminal lifestyle. Thanks to the use of advice from the Bible, many saved their marriages, some even escaped death. Such changes in people, I believe, benefit the state as well, because those who try to live according to the Bible become useful members of society. In addition, we strive for peace and do not participate in wars, but at the same time we respect the government of the country in which we live and comply with its laws.


I also try to live in unity, which means that I do not discriminate, and I do not have any prejudices on social, ethnic or racial grounds. I will share with you directly from the Bible what it encourages: "Let no rotten word come off your tongue. Say only good things that will strengthen others — when necessary — so that your words will benefit those who listen to you… Get rid of anger, anger, rage, shouting, insulting speech and other evil. Treat each other with kindness and deep compassion, generously forgive each other, just as God generously forgave you through Christ" (Ephesians 4:29-32). These are the wonderful qualities the Bible teaches, and I think everyone will agree that this is completely the opposite of extremism!


Your Honor, I have done nothing wrong for which I should be punished, and I repeat, I had no extremist motives, I do not feel hatred and hostility towards other people, regardless of what nationality they are, what religion they profess or what their skin color is. I want everyone to get acquainted with the Word of God, because this book can change everyone's life for the better.


Your Honor, there is no evidence from the prosecution that I studied extremist materials and put them into practice. I had no such thing in my mind. At our meetings, we read about the beauty of nature, the infinite universe, talked a lot about happy family relationships, about raising children and thanked our God Jehovah for teaching us useful and wonderful qualities through his Word, the Bible.


Your Honor, that's all I have, and I ask you to make a fair decision on my case!


Summary of the case


Region:

Amur region

Locality:

Belogorsk

What is suspected of:

"Organized meetings of followers of religious organizations" (from the resolution on the initiation of criminal proceedings)

Criminal case number:

12107100001000009

Initiated:

March 2, 2021

The current stage of the case:

the appeal

is being investigated by:

The Federal Security Service of Russia for the Amur Region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-292/2023

Court of First instance:

Belogorsky City Court of the Amur region

Judge of the Court of First Instance:

Natalia Kramar

Comentarios

Publicar un comentario

Entradas populares de este blog

Jehovah's witnesses can refuse blood transfusions, decides the Supreme Court (STF).

 BRASIL  Jehovah's witnesses can refuse blood transfusions, decides the Supreme Court (STF). 26/09/2024 The thesis that determines the state the cost of alternative treatments that are available from the Unified Health System (SUS) and that do not involve blood transfusion was fixed. The Supreme Court (STF) ruled on Wednesday (25/9) that medical patients can refuse blood transfusion for religious reasons. The plenary discussed extraordinary appeals (REs) 979742 (topic of General repercussion 952) and 1212272 (topic of General repercussion 1069), which deal with the right to perform surgery without blood transfusion for patients Jehovah's witnesses, a religion that does not accept this type of treatment. In RE 979742, the position of Rapporteur Minister Luís Roberto Barroso prevailed. In his vote, the president of the Supreme Court allowed Jehovah's witnesses to refuse blood transfusions, as long as this refusal meets requirements such as the patient being of legal age, capa...
Leer más

Appeal in Moscow Toughens the Punishment for One of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Terms for Two Other Believers Remain Intact

 RUSSIA Appeal in Moscow Toughens the Punishment for One of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Terms for Two Other Believers Remain Intact October 4, 2024 Moscow On October 3, 2024, the verdict against Anatoliy Marunov, Sergey Tolokonnikov and Roman Mareyev came into force. At the same time, the Moscow City Court added two months to Tolokonnikov's term. Three believers received from four and a half to six and a half years in prison. "The court criminalized the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses," the believers' lawyer said in the appeal. "The result was that the court declared the peaceful and socially harmless practice of religion a crime." Roman Mareyev stressed that the decision of the first instance violates Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which guarantees freedom of conscience and religion. He also noted: "The court did not establish the presence of motives of religious hatred or enmity in my actions, and did not establish agai...
Leer más

Appeal in Samara Upholds the Conviction of Aleksandr Dolganov — Three Years in Prison for Faith in Jehovah God

 RUSSIA Appeal in Samara Upholds the Conviction of Aleksandr Dolganov — Three Years in Prison for Faith in Jehovah God October 1, 2024 Samara Region On September 27, 2024, the panel of judges of the Samara Regional Court agreed with the decision of the first instance in the case of Aleksandr Dolganov. Although the term of punishment for the believer, 35, remained the same, the appeal counted the time under house arrest against the punishment at the rate of 1 day of house arrest for 1 day of colony. According to this decision, Dolganov should serve his sentence a month and a half earlier. Earlier, the Avtozavodskiy District Court of the city of Tolyatti considered it a crime for Dolganov to hold services of Jehovah's Witnesses. According to the believer, this contradicts the explanations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, so he appealed the verdict. Addressing the panel of judges, Dolganov said: "Bible principles taught me to be a kind, caring, patien...
Leer más