The last word of the defendant Evgeny Godunov in Tula

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Evgeny Godunov in Tula

November 2 , 2023

Tula region

"I am not ashamed to stand before the court for being a Jehovah's Witness," the believer said in the last word. — We understand that if we don't warn others, someone may get hurt or even die. I cannot remain silent about what I have learned from the Bible."

Transcript of the court session in the Proletarian District Court of Tula dated 02.11.2023 in the case 1-142/2023 on the charges of Evgeny Nikolaevich Godunov and others. in committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Godunova Evgeny Nikolaevich:

Two months in custody, two months under house arrest, two years on his own recognizance. The prosecution asks to convict me for being an honest person who respects the laws of the country; for being a Jehovah's Witness, observing and using article 28 of the Russian Constitution; for having never committed criminal acts.

I deeply respect what people who are assigned by the state to protect and protect people living in the country of which I am a citizen are doing. If it weren't for their selfless efforts, then we, ordinary people, would live in chaos and anarchy. Therefore, I am grateful that my family and I can live, work and relax relatively safely. I want to quote these words from the Bible: "Everyone must obey the highest authorities, for there is no authority not from God, the same that exists is established by God... rulers cause fear not in those who do good, but in those who do evil. If you do not want to be afraid of the authorities, then continue to do good and you will hear praise from them. Therefore, it is necessary to obey him, and not only because disobedience will lead to punishment, but also for the sake of one's own conscience" (Romans 13:1, 3-5). As a believer and disciple of Jesus Christ, I have always tried to follow this command, and my conscience is clear in this matter. Therefore, for example, I did not shy away from my civic duty and spent 3.5 years away from home doing alternative service in a home for the elderly and disabled. I just wanted to worship God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and explore his Word, the Bible, in order to apply in my life his just norms and principles that benefit not only myself, but also everyone around me.

Perhaps you are interested in how I got to such a moment in my life when I am judged for my faith. I have been attending meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses since I was 6 years old. Of course, no one has ever heard of any religious organizations like the Management Center of Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. Much later, I was very interested in a question that was important and difficult for me: is the Bible a book from God? I loved reading all kinds of books and eventually realized that the Bible could not have been written by people. Only after that I decided to become a Jehovah's Witness.

At that time, I met many Witnesses who survived exile to Siberia in 1951. One of them even visited a German concentration camp. This is a very interesting story. In the 1930s, the brutal persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses began in Nazi Germany. Houses were searched, bans followed, thousands were thrown into concentration camps. The Nazis believed that the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses were hostile and "hindered the construction of National Socialism." Hitler promised to eradicate Jehovah's Witnesses because they firmly refused to serve in the Nazi army, did not vote for Hitler and did not utter the greeting "Heil Hitler!".

History repeats itself, there is nothing new. Back in the I century, Christians were accused of crimes against the state. And since then, the charges have been officially built under the guise of legality, and even behind-the-scenes explanations of the persecution have been put forward. In the USA, Jehovah's Witnesses were persecuted for allegedly not showing loyalty to America. The Nazis explained the persecution by the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses allegedly collaborated with the USSR, and called them a Jewish-communist organization. In Romania, you can find newspapers that claim that Jehovah's Witnesses are a Russian sect. In the USSR itself, they were called an American sect and accused of anti-Soviet activities, and now in Russia they are accused of extremism. All these contradictions prove one thing: both in the past and now my co-religionists and I personally are being accused unfounded.

Why am I talking about this now? Because every year on January 27, Germany celebrates the National Holocaust Memorial Day. On January 27, along with other groups of people who suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime, the courage and steadfastness of Jehovah's Witnesses, who during the Nazi era, while in concentration camps, wore a distinctive sign sewn on their clothes — a purple triangle, is widely publicized throughout the country. Why do Germany and other States consider it necessary to loudly proclaim these monstrous lessons of history? Because they have learned a bitter lesson and are making efforts to never repeat it. Therefore, all those who were persecuted for their faith were rehabilitated, including in the Soviet Union…

But for some reason, now in Russia itself, Jehovah's Witnesses have begun to be persecuted on far-fetched charges of so-called extremism. Has history really taught us nothing? Your Honor, if the court now recognizes me as an extremist, how many years will I have to wait to be rehabilitated? When this happens, who will return the years of life to me and my spouse?

Perhaps you're thinking, "Do you want to believe? Believe in your soul like everyone else, why do you preach?" Your Honor, you will agree that when we learn about something important, we hurry 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. I cannot remain silent about what I have learned from the Bible.

In the exemplary prayer "Our Father", which is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, verses 9 and 10, Jesus Christ uttered the following words: "Pray like this: Our Father who art in heaven! Hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." These are some of the most famous words on Earth. Few people think about the meaning of the most famous prayer Our Father. What is the name of God? How can this name be sanctified if no one talks about it? Why am I considered a banned extremist organization for uttering the name of God? What is the Kingdom of God? Why will it come to Earth? What is the will of God in relation to people? These are the most important questions, the answers to which, in my opinion, people need to know. This is even more important than knowing about the approach of a natural disaster. Therefore, I was driven by love for God and for my neighbors. No one has ever told me who and what to talk about, I read about all this in the Bible.

Of course, many do not believe this, even laugh and consider it a fairy tale. But imagine a young man, a carpenter, about thirty years old, living 2,000 years ago in the hinterland of the Roman Empire. He told his friends that they would be persecuted and so on. Everything that should have been fulfilled has already been fulfilled. This is a real miracle, why not believe the rest? This man, Jesus, lived on earth for only 33 years.

Why so little? One of the reasons is that he became a participant in the most unfair trial in history. Pontius Pilate, who judged Jesus Christ, realized that he was not to blame, tried to free him, but fear did not let him finish the job. Why? Because the Jewish priests put a lot of pressure on him. They frightened Pilate by telling the higher authorities about him. Pilate was afraid and therefore, suppressing his will, gave Jesus to execution, that is, he pronounced a guilty verdict on him. Today, judges also need to show courage to pass a fair sentence.

It is not only judges who need to resist pressure for the sake of the truth. People tend to be guided by the opinion of the majority, rather than making their own right decisions. But in the Bible, in Exodus 23:2, the principle is written: "Do not follow the majority to do evil." The way of life cannot be called good just because they are followed by the majority. For example, what is popular in society now? Smoking, loose relationships in marriage, drugs. But what kind of smoker does not want to quit smoking? Who doesn't dream of finding a devoted life partner? In which country are they not struggling with drug addiction? For centuries, there have been many very different ideas that were considered universally accepted, and subsequently proved to be a failure. For example, over the past 100 years in our country, at first everyone was believers, then they built communism, then democracy, then capitalism. Therefore, it does not make sense to always focus on the majority opinion.

A man recently told me: "Do you see where the wind is blowing? We need to change somehow." I agree that you need to change if you see that you are wrong. But it's stupid to give up good beliefs. For example, if the laws change tomorrow and everyone needs to support gay pride parades, sex change or drugs, we won't support what we think is wrong, will we? We need to defend what is right. My beliefs have been tested and are too good to give up.

Look at what they said about the first Christians: "We believe that this man is worse than any infection, the instigator of rebellions among Jews throughout the earth and the leader of the sect of the Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5). This is reminiscent of what we are accused of. The accusation of extremism is just as vague, vague. At the same time, one of the judges, the law teacher Gamaliel, soberly reasoned: "And now, I say to you, leave these people alone and leave them: for if this enterprise and this work are from men, then it will be destroyed; but if from God, then you cannot destroy it; take care that you will not turn out to be God-defying either" (Acts 5:38). Despite the fact that the first Christians had many cruel enemies, no one could destroy their cause.

[…]

At this trial, we heard a lot of strange, untrue statements about Jehovah's Witnesses, which, unfortunately, are spread by the media. About Jesus himself they said: "Look at this man! He eats too much and drinks too much wine! He is a friend of tax collectors and sinners!" To which he replied: "But wisdom is judged by deeds" (Matthew 11:19). Fortunately, today the courts also make decisions not on the basis of rumors, but on the basis of facts or people's actions. Even the Supreme Court [which liquidated the legal entity of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia] noted that our creed does not pose a danger to others.

Dear Court, I am convinced that you yourself understand that I did not appear before you today for crimes. I didn't commit them. Today I am in the dock for my faith in God and for the fact that I want to live the way Jesus Christ taught. I would like to emphasize that in this case the only victims (apart from the other defendants) are me and my wife, who shares all the hardships of the investigation and the court. Our physical, emotional and material condition has been harmed. I am not ashamed to stand before the court for being a Jehovah's Witness. It would be a shame if I were tried for a real crime.

Dear Alyona, thank you for your love, for your help, support and care for me during this difficult period of life for us! "Whoever has found a good wife has found good and received grace from the Lord" (Proverbs 18:22). Alyona, I love you very much!

I wanted to thank the FSB investigators, although they did a lot of useless and harmful work, they treated us respectfully and gave us 2 years to stay not in jail, but at home. Thanks to everyone who came to the meetings, your support is very valuable. Thanks to the lawyers, especially Ilya Sergeevich and Oksana Vyacheslavovna, you have done much more than I could have expected from lawyers at this trial.

Thanks to the experts. Although there are many questions to the examination, but after talking during the break, we saw that these are wonderful people, and most importantly Elena Dmitrievna, Doctor of Philosophy, professor, specialist in the works of Leo Tolstoy, admitted that today Lev Nikolaevich would be on our side. These are the nicest words I've heard lately.

Thank you to Judge Nina Valeryevna for the relaxed atmosphere during the meetings, for being patient with us when we didn't understand something. Thanks to Prosecutor Ilya Vladimirovich. It is clear that not everyone likes the prosecutor's work, especially the defendants, but in my opinion, you try to do it honestly, as far as the system allows.

Thanks to everyone who wrote letters when I was in jail. But I still hope that in the near future I will be with my wife, and not receive letters from friends while in isolation.

Although I say my last word, the judge still has the last word in this process. Your Honor, it would be fair to acquit me, not to let me become another prisoner of conscience. But even if it doesn't happen, I'm calm. I want to quote one of my favorite Bible verses: "I know that those who fear the true God will be fine in the end, because they fear him" (Ecclesiastes 8:12).

Summary of the case

Region:

Tula region

Locality:

Tula

What is suspected of:

"I took active organizational actions... expressed in the organization of religious performances ... and the implementation of preaching activities" (from the resolution on the initiation of criminal proceedings)

Criminal case number:

12107700001370018

Initiated:

March 25, 2021

Current stage of the case:

proceedings in the court of first instance

Investigates:

WITH the FSB in the Tula region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-142/2023

Court of First instance:

Proletarian District Court of Tula

Judge of the Court of First instance:

Nina Panarina