The last word of the defendant Svetlana Malianova in Nizhny Novgorod

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Svetlana Malianova in Nizhny Novgorod

April 21 , 2023

Nizhny Novgorod region

From the courtroom

In her last word, the believer expressed hope for a fair court decision and quoted Jean-Jacques Rousseau: "To see injustice and be silent means to participate in it yourself." She added: "I hope that you will not stay away from this misunderstanding, which we witnessed."

Transcript of the court session in the Leninsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod dated 04/21/2023 in the case 1-3/2023 on charges of Svetlana Sergeevna Malyanova and others. in committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Malianova Svetlana Sergeevna:

Your Honor! I want to start my last word with the statement of the famous English lawyer and legal historian William Blackston: "It is impossible to allow any human law to contradict the "law of revelation" set forth in the Bible."

Your Honor, I want to give you a short historical summary that applies to you and me and to everyone present. In 1864, a judicial reform was carried out in Russia, which was of great importance for the entire judicial system of Russia. The criminal process began to be based on the principles of publicity, verbality, immediacy, competitiveness, and free evaluation of evidence. The famous Russian jurist and lawyer Anatoly Fedorovich Koni attached importance to "finding the truth in the case, and not proving the guilt of the defendant at all costs." In carrying out this task, the moral attitudes of the prosecutor, judge, jurors played an important role, "because the court is not a mechanism in which individual gears perform the task assigned to them. The court is a living organism, the judge must not only delve into the legal side of the case, but also try to consider the "everyday truth of the case"."

I believe that our court is exactly like that. But the judicial system was less humane in ancient times. A man named Saul knew this firsthand. After becoming the Apostle Paul, he suffered greatly from the authorities of his time. Nevertheless, he tirelessly reminded his co-religionists "to obey and be obedient to governments and authorities as ruling ones, to be ready for every good deed, not to speak offensively about anyone [even the most malicious persecutors], not to be belligerent, to be prudent, treating all people with all meekness" (Titus 3:1, 2). I also try to obey this command.

Speaking of examples from the past, I want to mention another case. The judges of the Sanhedrin were determined to put the apostles of Christ to death (Acts 5:33). However, events took an unexpected turn. Gamaliel, an expert in the Law, a member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme body of political, religious and legal authority among the Jews, stood up and warned the other members of the Sanhedrin not to act hastily. He made a wise conclusion: "If this plan or this work is from people, then it will be overthrown; but if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them."

Your Honor, I really like to read. As a linguist by education, an expert in the field of English and French, I understand that precisely chosen words can decide the outcome of a case. "To see injustice and be silent means to participate in it yourself." These are the words of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the French philosopher. I hope that you will not stay away from this misunderstanding, which we have witnessed.

In confirmation of the absurdity of the accusation, a funny case is recalled during the interrogation of an expert. To our question about whether our meeting is a meeting of the assembly, the respected prosecutor jokingly pointed towards the judge with the words: "And this one is our main one then." I think that the vagueness of the accusation and interpretation of definitions is obvious.

I want to say thank you to all of you for your hard work. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you, Your Honor, for punctuality and the opportunity to schedule meetings in the courtroom. And also to all those present who could not indifferently observe only from afar and came to support us. We didn't know many of them personally and were pleasantly surprised by such a large number of those present.

In conclusion, I will quote another phrase of lawyer Koni: "The judge is an organ of the state. It looks at him as a means to fulfill its task of protecting the law closer and more correctly. The exertion of the judge's mental strength to find the truth in the case is the fulfillment of the commission of the state, which, relying on the calm impartiality of his sometimes hard work, entrusts him with a particle of its power. Therefore, it expects a deliberate verdict from the judge, and not a fleeting opinion inspired by a rush of feeling or a preconceived view."

Summary of the case

Region:

Nizhny Novgorod region

Locality:

Nizhniy Novgorod

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, they held meetings, collected donations for the needs of a religious organization, improved the skills of carrying out missionary activities

Criminal case number:

11901220089000240

Initiated:

July 17, 2019

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigating:

Department of Internal Affairs SCH GSU GU of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Nizhny Novgorod region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2), 282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-3/2023

Court of First Instance:

Leninsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod

Judge of the Court of First Instance:

Sergey Glushkov