The last word of Margarita Moiseenko in Zee

 RUSSIA

 

The last word of Margarita Moiseenko in Zee

September 21 , 2023

Amur region

Defending her faith in court, the defendant stated: "Jehovah's Witnesses do not pose a danger to the state, because they are far from violence and strive for peace."

Transcript of the court session in the Zeysky District Court of the Amur region dated 09/21/2023 in the case 1-62/2023 on charges of Margarita Anatolyevna Moiseenko and others. in committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Moiseenko Margarita Anatolyevna:

Thank you to all the participants in the trial for treating me with respect as a defendant. Your Honor, thank you for allowing my husband to be the defense attorney in this case. Elena Nikolaevna, thank you for drawing up the minutes of the court session. Veronika Vasilyevna, thank you for your sincere, conscientious efforts to protect me! Olga Alexandrovna, thank you for trying to pronounce the name of God correctly — Jehovah, this is important to me. Thanks to the friends who were there and came to the trial. Special thanks to my husband Konstantin for his support and assistance in preparing for the court sessions.

I am accused of participating in the activities of a religious organization, in respect of which a court has made a decision that has entered into legal force to liquidate or ban activities in connection with the implementation of extremist activities. However, Your Honor, the reality today is that peaceful citizens are unreasonably labeled extremists. So first I want to explain why Jehovah's Witnesses are actually being tried all over the country.

The answer to this question is in the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:12 says: "Yes, all followers of Christ Jesus who want to faithfully serve God will be persecuted." As you can see, we are talking about the persecution of Christians. This was predicted, so I personally am not surprised that this is happening. Maybe a little upset. The fact is that persecution is inevitable. They were in the I century A.D., and they are still there. The enemies of Jesus Christ tried to arrest him. Is it not reasonable to expect that his followers will be treated the same way? This further convinces me that I am on the right track.

My conscience is calm, because I have not violated either the Criminal Code or the law of God — I have not caused any harm to anyone by my actions. The Bible says: "It is better to suffer for good deeds, if God allows it, than for evil ones" and "Even if you have to suffer for righteousness, you are happy" (1 Peter 3:14, 17). Indeed, I am happy that I suffer not for crimes, but for worshipping God.

I got to know the Bible when I was a teenager. At the age of 13, this book fell into my hands. I really loved reading, so I liked Bible stories. At the age of 18, I met Jehovah's Witnesses. By that time, I was worried about vital issues, for example: what happens to the dead? what is the meaning of life? what awaits our Earth in the future? I found simple and convincing answers to all these questions. Besides, I wanted to create a strong family. Therefore, my future husband Konstantin and I began to study the Bible together.

I am a hot-tempered person by nature, but thanks to biblical principles I have learned to be more patient. For example, in the Letter to the Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 31 and 32, it says: "Get rid of malice, anger, rage, shouting, insulting speech and other evil. Treat each other with kindness and deep compassion, generously forgive each other, just as God has generously forgiven you through Christ."

This had a positive effect on our relationship with my husband, and our marriage became stronger. In addition, my older sister watched my behavior and how I communicate in the family. This prompted her to study the Bible too. My parents and my husband's parents do not share our religious beliefs, but this does not prevent us from communicating peacefully. They love and support us.

If I really participated in the activities of an extremist organization, and my views would be dangerous to society, it would have a bad effect on our relations in the family and with relatives. But I have not had any serious conflicts with anyone during the time I am a Jehovah's Witness. On the contrary, I try to apply the principle from the 12th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans: "Do not repay evil for evil to anyone… As far as possible on your part, be at peace with everyone. Do not avenge yourself, dear brothers, but leave it to God to vent anger, because it is written: "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says Jehovah." And again: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he wants to drink, give him a drink, because by doing so, you will soften his heart. Do not be defeated by evil, but overcome evil with good." I am sure that people with such a civic position benefit society.

I am accused of participating in the activities of an extremist organization, of undermining the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the state by my actions. But that's a lie. Jehovah's Witnesses do not pose a danger to the state, because they are far from violence and strive for peace. We do not participate in riots, strikes against the authorities, we never gather pickets or anything like that. Our Lord Jesus taught peacefulness. Loving God and others is the main quality, because "whoever does not love has not known God" (1 John 4:8). The love of God consists in the love of one's neighbor. If I don't love my neighbor, then I don't love God.

It is love that motivates me to help others to know God and become his friends. Thanks to the knowledge from the Bible, people get rid of bad habits and improve their personal qualities. And this benefits both them and the state. I am sure that if every person observed the biblical commandments, such as "do not kill", "do not steal" and others, then life would be better.

The prosecutor does not prove signs of extremist activity, but simply finds out how I expressed my faith. Perhaps some people are now thinking: "No one forbids you to believe, just believe one by one." But is it possible? The Bible says, "Let us not neglect our meetings, as has become a habit for some, but let us encourage one another." (Hebrews 10:25). Here there is a direct instruction "not to neglect meetings", that is, God expects those who want to have close relations with him to worship him in an organized way — in a Christian congregation. That's why I do this, following the example of the first Christians, gathering together with my co-religionists.

Your Honor, believing for me is the same as breathing. If I am not allowed to calmly manifest my faith, seeing signs of extremism, although there is no hint of something like that in it, I have a feeling that my oxygen supply has been cut off. Therefore, in the indictment I see a biased attitude towards me personally as a Jehovah's Witness!

I emphasize once again: I did not commit any crime, but only used my constitutional right to believe in Jehovah God and live in harmony with my religious beliefs. In this regard, I ask the court to acquit me and find me innocent.

Summary of the case

Region:

Amur region

Locality:

Zea

What is suspected:

according to the investigation, "realizing that by their actions they undermine the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the state ... they directly participated in ... religious events."

Criminal case number:

12107100001000049

Initiated:

November 22, 2021

The current stage of the case:

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 (2)

Case number in court:

1-62/2023

Court of First Instance:

Zeysky District Court of the Amur region

Judge of the Court of First instance:

Ivan Moiseenko