The last word of the defendant Valery Tibia in Taganrog

 Russia

The last word of the defendant Valery Tibia in Taganrog

June 15, 2023

Rostov region

In an appeal to the court, the believer, explaining his peaceful position, stated: "I stand against cruelty and violence. The best way to respond to hatred and cruelty is to show love, compassion and empathy."

Transcript of the court session in the Taganrog City Court of the Rostov region dated 06/15/2023 in the case 1-43/2023 (1-829/2022) on charges of Skvortsov Alexander Viktorovich and Tibiy Valery Viktorovich of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Tibiy Valery Viktorovich:

Your Honor! On March 9 of this year, a tragedy occurred in Hamburg. Probably, you and those present in this hall have heard about this sad news. The mass media on federal channels talked about this tragedy. What happened? An unknown man entered a peaceful worship service where Jehovah's Witnesses gathered and opened fire. Seven people died that day, one of them an unborn child.

On March 25, Jehovah's Witnesses held a meeting to commemorate the victims of the Hamburg shooting. At this meeting, the following words were uttered: "Our faith, hope and love help to cope with grief. They are much stronger than hatred and cruelty. On March 9, an attack was carried out not just on individuals, but on all of us. Today we have gathered to give our answer to hatred and cruelty. We respond with love, compassion, empathy, as well as faith and hope. The Bible says, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (The Bible, Romans 12:21). This is exactly what we want to do."

Your Honor, I completely agree with these words. The best way to respond to hatred and cruelty is to show love, compassion and empathy. [...] The most important reason why such a response of hatred and cruelty is given is recorded in the Second Letter to the Corinthians, the 5th chapter, the 14th verse: "We are driven by the love of Christ." The driving force is love.

I want to thank and say thank you from the bottom of my heart to my wife, my soulmate, for the fact that, despite various difficulties, she fully shows such love. Thank you to your family and friends for showing such love. Thanks to the friends who came to this hall, to those who wrote and write letters, who pray. Thank you to everyone for showing love! Your Honor, I also thank you very much for making concessions. For example, when Tuesday was not suitable for us, you postponed the court session to Thursday. Or when it was inconvenient for someone to come to the court session before lunch, you set the time after lunch. Thanks!

Thanks to the secretary and the prosecutor for their patience. There was a lot of typing, reading, listening. Special thanks to the convoy, too, for the fact that there were no problems with the delivery. Everything was without noise and dust and on time. Thanks to the lawyers for all their efforts and efforts.

Your Honor! I am accused of extremism, but all my words and deeds say the opposite. I chose a completely opposite path — as I have already said, the path of the love of Christ. Jesus Christ perfectly showed the manifestation of love, but most importantly, he reflected the love of his Father Jehovah God. "God is love" (1 John 4:8). Jehovah is the source of love. Thanks to his love, we live, move and exist (Acts 17:28). Therefore, to speak about Jehovah, reflecting his love, means to justify the purpose of our existence.

Jehovah's Witnesses have always developed such love, even when it was difficult. For example, I want to share the biography of Irena Sendler. Her life is a confirmation of how many humble heroes live among us and show love for their neighbor. Irena lived by the principle recorded in the book of Proverbs 24:11: "Come to the aid of those who are close to death." During the Second World War, Irena worked as a social worker, and she used all possible methods to save people. According to some reports, risking her life, she saved 2,500 Jewish children. "I did what I had to do, and I regret that I could not save even more people. Every child saved with my help is a justification for my existence on earth, not the right to glory," Irena said. When asked what she considers the most important thing, she answered without hesitation: "Love, tolerance and humility." Irena lived 98 years.

I receive many letters, and they all say that Jehovah's Witnesses, who I am, are always driven by the love of Christ. In one letter, a dear person wrote to me about his difficulties: in seven years, she buried her two sons and her husband. She writes that she continues to live and hopes for God's help. I really liked the following words of her: "How I wish that everything was wonderful for all people on the planet, that everyone was healthy and happy, lived in good conditions and worked with pleasure at their favorite job. We are looking forward to the time when our joy will never end!" This is love in action. Despite the difficulties, a person does not stop loving.

Unfortunately, there is such a vicious circle in life: we don't like other people because we don't know them, but we don't recognize them because we don't love them. I have just given several examples when such a vicious circle breaks and crumbles thanks to love — love even for those you don't know. Extremism has always had the main basis — it is aggression. Aggression manifests itself in rage, anger, irritability and hatred. Most often, these feelings are uncontrollable and, accordingly, pose a danger to others. Your Honor, I am not an aggressive person and I do not pose any danger to others. In the Bible, in 1 Corinthians, the 13th chapter, the 4th verse, it is said that love is patient and kind. For almost 20 years I have been trying to develop these qualities.

There is such an interesting protective phenomenon in nature. The bee family has an enemy — a hornet. As soon as the hornet climbs into the bee swarm, the bees cling to it, forming a ball, and begin to vibrate. This contributes to an increase in the temperature inside the formed ball to 47 degrees, as a result of which the hornet dies. The bees themselves can withstand temperatures up to 50 degrees, so they do not get hurt. Thanks to the fervent love, patience and kindness inside, there is no rage, anger, irritability and hatred in my heart. They are dying.

For the last five years I have been working for a marketing company with more than 500 employees, serving more than 10 stores. I have never had strained relationships or conflicts with employees at work. I have been in jail for more than a year, and qualities such as love, patience and kindness help me to maintain peaceful relations with different people. There is a characteristic from the place of work, where it is noted that I treated my work conscientiously, always fulfilled all the requirements in full, and my personal qualities, such as responsiveness and honesty, are also noted there.

In 1922, Jehovah's Witnesses adopted a resolution. This resolution is a hundred years old! It said: "We Christians are determined to obey our Lord and savior Jesus Christ and follow him. We stand against anarchy and cruelty in any of its manifestations. We long for peace with all our soul."

Your Honor, I stand against cruelty and violence. The best way to respond to hatred and cruelty is to show love, compassion and empathy. A ship, for example, does not sink when there is water around it. A ship sinks when there is water in it. Therefore, the most important thing in life is not what is happening around us, but what is inside. I had no malicious intent for illegal actions. My motives were kind and peaceful, which motivates me to love Jehovah God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind and with all my life, as well as to love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:37, 39). The driving force is the love of Christ.

Your Honor, in the debate I have already drawn attention to important details — for example, that the Constitution of the Russian Federation allows you to be a believer and practice religion both individually and jointly with others. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation noted that it did not prohibit the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses and the ways of expressing faith, which may involve the presence of joint actions. The Russian Federation, represented by its authorized bodies, publicly declares that Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia have the right to profess and spread their faith after April 20, 2017.

I had no purpose to incite hatred, enmity, I did not call anyone to violence and other illegal actions. I acted within the framework of the freedom of religion, which is guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and international legal acts. I was legally exercising my right to freedom of religion as a Jehovah's Witness. Your Honor, I ask you to stop the criminal case and fully acquit me.

Case summary

Region:

Rostov region

Locality:

Taganrog

What is suspected of:

"Organized the activities of the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses "Taganrog", recognized as extremist and liquidated" back in 2009.

Criminal case number:

12102600017000087

Initiated:

December 7, 2021

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigates:

SO in the city of Taganrog SU IC of the Russian Federation in the Rostov region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-43/2023 (1-829/2022)

Court of First Instance:

Taganrog City Court of Rostov region

Judge of the Court of First instance:

Georgy Serebryanikov