The last word of the defendant Vyacheslav Boronos in Surgut

 RUSSIA 

 

The last word of the defendant Vyacheslav Boronos in Surgut

November 9 , 2023

Khanty-Mansiysk JSC

Speaking with the last word, the believer declared his innocence. "Do I have a conviction in the triumph of justice? Undoubtedly. And even if the court does not pass an acquittal, I am convinced of my imminent rehabilitation. Sooner or later, but it will happen," he said.

Transcript of the court session in the Surgut City Court of 09.11.2023 on the case № 1-27/2023 (1-130/2022; 1-1348/2021) on the charges of Boronos Vyacheslav Pavlovich and others . in committing a crime under Parts 1 and 2 of Article 282.2, Part 1 of Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Boronos Vyacheslav Pavlovich:

Your Honor, dear Court, dear participants in the process! November 29 marks exactly two years since we participated in this trial. According to my inner feelings, sometimes it seems to me that during this time we have become like a big friendly family. Of course, this comparison looks unusual when applied to our situation. But in the last word, I have the right to express my thoughts and my inner feelings, which I am doing now. For me, the similarity with the family is also in the fact that, as in any family, all its members have responsibilities and, if you want, roles, and all this was also present in the trial.

At the beginning of my last words, I would like to express my gratitude to all the participants in the trial for the calm, respectful, friendly, and sometimes almost family atmosphere that prevailed in the courtroom thanks to your efforts.

Your Honor, I want to thank you for your desire to understand the essence of this extraordinary criminal case. Thank you for your rejection of formalism and for your desire to delve into numerous religious subtleties and terminology. I also want to say words of gratitude for your understanding and trust, since you have repeatedly released me so that I could go for treatment and on vacation with my family.

Zhanna Petrovna, as a secretary, an assistant judge, you had to do an incredible amount of organizational and printing work, but your positive attitude simply amazed me. I don't remember now that you've ever been in a bad mood, or you were annoyed. Sometimes almost every accused person came up to you and asked the same thing, and you calmly explained everything to everyone. And there are as many as twenty of us. Thank you for your patience and kindness!

I would also like to thank the employees of the Prosecutor's office Anastasia Nikolaevna, Elizaveta Valeryanovna and Larisa Leonidovna for their tact and good manners, which they tried to show throughout the process. Thank you for respecting the feelings of believers when reading numerous texts with difficult religious terms. And, first of all, for your efforts to pronounce the name of God correctly — Jehovah.

Special thanks, of course, to the lawyers. Thank you for your professionalism and for your desire to understand us, such atypical clients! At the beginning of the trial, your wary attitude towards the accused under such a serious article caught my eye. But during the trial, you had the opportunity to make sure that we are the most ordinary harmless people. It seems to me that we have quite a warm and trusting relationship now. The city of Surgut is far from a megalopolis, and it was nice to meet some of the lawyers sometimes, whether it was on the street, in a store, in the gym or while jogging in the park on Saimaa. I'd like to think it was mutual.

Thanks to the lawyers who directly defended me by appointment: you, Sergey Vladimirovich, and you, Elena Alexandrovna, for your sincere understanding and support, as well as Alexander Vitalievich, who assisted me before the trial.

Although I started with the participants in the process in words of gratitude, the first person who is rightfully worthy of them is my dear and dearly beloved wife Victoria, who has always been there for all these years as a faithful friend and faithful wife. After the search conducted at our place on February 15, 2019, and especially when she saw the traces of torture on my body that evening and the emotional state I was in, she was shocked. Despite this, she offered me her fragile female shoulder and was there for me all this time, sharing all the hardships with me.

I can't help thanking my work colleagues and relatives who are not here, but who have always been there and tried to support me and my family morally, despite the sincere bewilderment about everything that is happening. I am also grateful to the management of the organization where I work for the fact that they took a principled position and did not look for an excuse to get rid of me, but allowed me to continue working and providing for my family, despite the pressure exerted on them by the investigative bodies and the FSB.

And, of course, I want to express my great gratitude to my friends who, like me, profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Knowing that the sessions are held in a closed format and they will not be allowed into the hall, they, at the prompting of their hearts, came to the courthouse day after day in any weather, met us and lifted our spirits with their smiles. It is impossible to overestimate their steadfastness, dedication and Christian love. I am very grateful to them for their kind words and sincere prayers.

Since this court session is closed, many to whom I wanted to express my gratitude are not in this hall. Nevertheless, I felt it my duty to mention at least some of them. In the Bible, in the 10th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, in the 26th verse, the words of Jesus are given: "After all, there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not be revealed." I am sure that my feelings and words of gratitude will reach all their recipients anyway.

So such a long, the first trial in my life, has come to an end. Very soon, my comrades in the criminal case and I will have to hear the verdict. Given the time frame requested by the prosecution, we are very likely to be found guilty and find ourselves in a situation consonant with the title of the play by the classic of Russian literature Alexander Ostrovsky "Guilty without Guilt".

But I can assure you that with any court decision, none of the participants in the process will become an enemy neither for me nor for my co-religionists. Similarly, neither the state, nor the authorities, nor the people around us have ever been enemies for us. After all, our guide — the Bible — teaches us to love all people and be obedient to the current authorities. During the trial, the words from the 13th chapter of the Letter to the Romans, the 2nd verse were repeatedly heard in the courtroom: "Therefore, the one who opposes the government is rebelling against the order established by God, and such a person will incur condemnation." For us as Christians, this is a guiding principle.

Dear court, during the trial, comparing the actions imputed to me and other defendants for violations of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and laws, all participants in the process could make sure that we are not criminals. During numerous discussions, the defense side has provided more than convincing evidence that we did not violate the law.

At one time, more than 2000 years ago, the innocence of Jesus Christ was also understood by the Roman procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, who acted as his judge. After reviewing the materials of the case fabricated by the Pharisees against Christ, he summed it up by saying the words recorded in the Gospel of Luke, the 23rd chapter, the 4th and 14th verses: "I believe that this person is not guilty of anything. [...] You brought this man to me and claim that he incited the people to revolt. I interrogated him in front of you and saw that he is innocent of what you accuse him of." Even Pontius Pilate's wife understood that Jesus was innocent. This is written in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 27, verse 19: "In addition, when Pilate was sitting on the bench, he was given a message from his wife: "Do nothing to this righteous man, because today in a dream I suffered greatly because of him."" But, despite all the available objective and subjective facts of Jesus' innocence, Pilate made a deal with his conscience and the law, succumbing to the pressure of the crowd. And the court then passed an unfair sentence against the founder of the Christian faith, Jesus Christ, which resulted in his execution.

Dear Court, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the trial of Jesus Christ, which took place in the Roman province of Judea about 2000 years ago, can in no way be a precedent in modern legal proceedings. Because the trial of Jesus Christ was not a trial of justice, but a trial of justice, and you and I live in a civilized, democratic, constitutional and secular society today.

However, not everything in our life happens exactly as it should happen. Unfortunately, we see how modern Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, are fulfilling his words recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 10, verses 17 and 18: "Beware of people, because they will put you on trial and whip you in synagogues. Because of me, you will be taken to rulers and kings so that they, as well as people from other nations, will hear about me." These predicted persecutions began long before the persecution of modern followers of Jesus Christ, whom religious scholar Sergei Ivanenko called in his book "people who never part with the Bible."

The beginning of attacks on Christians was laid already in the I century: shortly after the death of Jesus Christ, his disciples were brought to the Sanhedrin for trial, accusing them, in fact, of undermining state foundations. At this trial, an educated man Gamaliel, a lawyer, or, in modern language, a religious expert, expressed his opinion. In the Book of Acts, chapter 5, verses 34 and 35, we read: "But then a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, got up and ordered the apostles to be brought out for a while. Then he said, "Israelis, think carefully before you do anything with these people."" Further in verses 36 and 37, he drew attention to how rebellions had flared up in the past, but quickly faded away, because after the death of the leaders followed by the people, the enthusiasm of their followers quickly disappeared. And further in verses 38 and 39, this authoritative person concludes: "Therefore I say to you: leave these people, do not touch them. After all, if this plan or work is from people, then it will be destroyed, and if it is from God, you will not be able to destroy it. Otherwise, it may turn out that you are fighting with God himself."

Yes, Gamaliel urged the court to be patient in dealing with the apostles, since their leader, Jesus Christ, died recently. The judges heeded his advice and released the apostles. In the Book of Acts, chapter 5, verses 40 to 42, it says: "They listened to his words. Calling the apostles, they whipped them, ordered them not to speak about the name of Jesus anymore, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing that they were honored to be disgraced for the name of Jesus. And every day, in the temple and at home, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the joyful news that Jesus is the Christ." As we can see, then the trial ended relatively well for the believers: they were released.

Dear court, why did the apostles of Jesus Christ continue to tell people the truth about God, despite the fact that they had just been whipped for it? And why is Boronos now talking about biblical events that took place about 2,000 years ago, instead of saying something substantive in his last word in his defense? The answer is extremely simple. The fact that I quoted passages from historical events recorded in the Bible is the essence of my accusation. History repeats itself. Me and my co-religionists are being tried not for violating laws and not for extremist activity, and unproven, but solely for faith.

In fact, we are clean before the law and the state, just as the apostles of Jesus Christ in the first century were absolutely clean before the laws of Caesar. They were convicted, whipped as punishment, and after that they continued to talk about Jesus. But they were not hardened and incompetent criminals. No, they did not violate any state laws either before or after the trial. But they could not ignore the command of Jesus: "Go and prepare disciples in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," otherwise they would no longer be Christians (Matthew 28:19). Then they were judged solely for their faith, just as now, already in the XXI century, Jehovah's Witnesses are judged.

Throughout the whole process, a lot was said and read from the materials of the criminal case on the merits of the charges brought against me and my co-religionists. Numerous witnesses were interrogated, both for the prosecution and for the defense (by the way, both those and others, judging by their testimony, could be mistaken for defense witnesses); gigabytes of video and audio recordings were viewed and listened to.

From the speeches of the accused, their lawyers and invited expert specialists on the basis of the current legislation, we were convinced that:

— profess religion without forming a legal entity or after its liquidation, you can;

— no court in Russia has ever recognized the religion or beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses as criminal;

— the case file does not contain anything that would fit the definition of extremist activity in accordance with Federal Law No. 114-FZ of 25.07.2002 "On Countering extremist activity".

We have reviewed absolutely the entire evidence base of the preliminary investigation and made sure that there is no extremism in my actions or in the actions of the other accused. Here we would like to say: "Well, there is no trial." But there is a court, and we are present at it now. The state prosecution has already requested deadlines, real terms up to 9.5 years. Sometimes they give less for murder! And why such exorbitant deadlines?

The facts of extremism, at least some, have not been presented to the court. The accusation of continuing extremist activities of the liquidated legal entity has not been proven in any way. There are no victims, no damage to anyone. So it turns out that of all the "illegal actions", only my faith and my beliefs remain, the presence of which I do not deny.

I completely agree with Tibeiko's lawyer, who defended Vasily Burenescu, who said: "We have seen enough of what Jehovah's Witnesses believe." Yes, we were convinced. We were convinced both of the absence of extremism in the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, and of the absence of acts that violate the current legislation.

However, after speaking in the debates of the prosecutor's office, I got the impression that we are moving in a vicious circle, returning again and again to the unsubstantiated conclusions of the preliminary investigation. The state prosecution does not pay attention to the absence of facts confirming my guilt and the guilt of other defendants. It does not take into account the absence of components of extremism — proven extremist motives and motives of me and other defendants.

The state prosecution does not take into account the current federal laws and materials from the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated June 28, 2011 No. 11 "On judicial practice in criminal cases of extremist crimes", explaining what extremism is and what is the exercise of one's right to freedom of conscience and religion. Everything that refutes the version of the investigation and the unsubstantiated conclusions of the preliminary investigation is not taken into account.

Dear state prosecutors for some reason continue to repeat, like a spell: "Guilty, guilty, guilty." But it is unprofessional, illegal and even inhumane to turn the 28th article of the Constitution of the Russian Federation into the 282nd article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. And once again, the disappointing conclusion suggests itself that in the absence of actual evidence of my guilt in extremist activities, I am being judged simply for my faith. Therefore, let me once again draw your attention to the main tenets of my faith, which relate to the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses in general, and to the faith of all the defendants in this criminal case.

There is only one true God, whose name is Jehovah (Psalm 83:18, Exodus 6:3).

The main quality of Jehovah is love, and this quality is so prevalent that it is written in the Bible that God is love (1 John 4:8).

Jesus Christ is not God, but the son of God (Matthew 16:16).

God has a kingdom, or government, in the spiritual realm (Daniel 2:44).

The Bible is inspired by God and is a message and guide for mankind (2 Timothy 3:16).

People were originally created by God's plan with the possibility of living forever (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

People die because of Adam's sin (Romans 5:12).

Through the resurrection, God will bring many people back to life (Acts 24:15).

The relationship of those who live together as husband and wife must be officially registered (Titus 3:1; Hebrews 13:4).

One should respect life (Acts 17:25, 28) and blood (Acts 15:25).

It is necessary to obey the state authorities (Romans 13:1).

Christians should remain neutral in matters of politics (John 17:16).

Following the command of Jesus, Christians preach (Matthew 28:19, 20).

You can still go on and on listing the biblical teachings, but I will focus on those that I have read. Tell me, please, is there at least something extremist in these exercises? Of course not. And it can't be. The Federal Law "On Countering Extremist Activity", Article 3.1 "Peculiarities of the application of the legislation of the Russian Federation on countering extremist activity in relation to religious texts" clearly states: "The Bible, the Koran, Tanakh and Ganjur, their contents and quotations from them cannot be recognized as extremist materials." And it is those who claim that this is not the case who should be held accountable before the law. My faith, as well as the faith of the entire religious denomination of Jehovah's Witnesses, is based solely on the Bible, the texts of which, according to the law, cannot contain extremism.

Dear court, I, like all my friends who are here as defendants, do not abuse alcohol, do not smoke and try to lead a healthy lifestyle; I do not conflict with anyone, I do not fight, I do not break laws, I try to maintain peaceful relations with absolutely everyone; I remain faithful to my wife; I honestly and conscientiously fulfill my duties at work (now I have already fulfilled them), I do not steal, I pay taxes prescribed by law. And this way of life was formed for me thanks to the study of the Bible. Can someone explain to me what else I have to get rid of after being in prison for 8 years, where I am likely to end up? Who in the colony can correct me better than the Bible has already done? Maybe my cellmates and thieves in law should teach me love and respect for other people? Or will the supervisors and supervisors reinforce my beliefs in the need to comply with laws that I have never violated anyway?

I completely agree with the words of Vladimir Vysotsky, said by him in the role of Captain Zheglov: "A thief should be in prison." But, dear court, in two years you have had the opportunity to see what kind of "thieves" we are, and what kind of criminals we are? Which ones? Yes, none. Even the members of the investigation team themselves, who have been trying for more than two and a half years to substantiate their unsubstantiated accusation, themselves noted that we are "decent people, not scumbags, not murderers, not pedophiles, and it's nice to work with us," as they put it after the completion of the investigative actions.

Over the years of this process, analyzing the materials of the criminal case, we could hear a lot of interesting things about the hope for eternal life, about the biblical principles that help to preserve the family and make it strong, friendly and happy, about the need to take care of your health, about how to build relationships with people to take into account their feelings and opinions. That's just that we have not heard the facts of violating the law and causing harm to the state and citizens, and also have not found any evidence of the spread of hatred or enmity towards persons of another religion. But, despite this, all the defendants were asked for real terms of punishment.

After the announcement of the potential sentences, I thought about a lot of things and also tried to answer a number of questions that I asked myself and that popped up in my head at night. Here are just a few of them.

Do I believe there will be a fair acquittal? I will say this: no matter what, I want to hope for it. And hope, which, according to the saying, dies last, never dies for Jehovah's Witnesses, because they are driven by faith and hope. I also believe and hope in the biblical promises about the coming of God's new world on the heavenly earth without grief, suffering, injustice and death.

Will it upset me if an unfair decision is made? Sure. After all, I am an ordinary person — not some kind of religious fanatic, not a madman, not a criminal and not a terrorist. After all, for the last ten years I have been working at a regime enterprise, although with the stroke of an investigator's pen I am included in the "List of organizations and individuals in respect of which there is information about their involvement in extremist activities or terrorism" just like my comrades.

Therefore, yes, it will upset. However, not so much as to be discouraged and discouraged. Jesus Christ said, "Happy are those who are persecuted for righteousness" (Matthew 5:10). This means that even if the outcome of the case is negative for me, I will try to bear with honor the undeserved punishment for righteousness that has fallen to me.

Do I hold a grudge against anyone in case of an unfair court decision? I've thought about it a lot and I'll say that I still don't. We try to follow the example of Jesus in everything, who even before his death said about all those who participated in his unjust execution, and even about those who tortured him: "Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing" (Gospel of Luke 23:34).

Do I have a conviction in the triumph of justice? Undoubtedly. And even if the court does not pass an acquittal, I am convinced of my imminent rehabilitation. Sooner or later it will happen. Rehabilitation may not take place only in one case: if the judgment of God over the whole earth, which is mentioned in the Bible and after which paradise will be restored on the whole earth, happens earlier. But then justification and rehabilitation will not be required at all, because I have always tried to follow biblical principles in my life and act blamelessly before Jehovah, just as all people who profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses around the world try to live. In the eyes of God, both I and my friends are certainly innocent, at least of what I am unfairly accused of.

Dear Court, I want to sum up everything said in my last word. Taking into account the absence in the criminal case of the corpus delicti and the facts of my illegal and illegal activities, the absence of victims, as well as signs of extremism in my actions and causing damage to the state and the constitutional order of the Russian Federation, I want to emphasize once again that I did not commit any crime. I only used my constitutional right to believe in God and live in harmony with my peaceful religious beliefs, just as 175,000 of my co-religionists live in Russia and more than 8,000,000 around the world, including participants in this criminal case.

In this regard, I ask the court to acquit and find me and my friends innocent, given that the goal of a fair trial is not punishment, but the administration of justice.

I ask you to attach the text of my last word to the materials of the criminal case.

Summary of the case

Region:

Khanty-Mansiysk JSC

Locality:

Surgut

What is suspected of:

"he made speeches, participated in a preaching service with local "Jehovah's witnesses", held meetings with "pioneers", "elders" and "service assistants", including in order to organize the activities of "elders" in the "Assembly""Take-off"".

Criminal case number:

42002007709000023

Initiated:

February 11, 2019

Current stage of the case:

Proceedings in the court of first instance

Investigates:

SO in Surgut SU IC of the Russian Federation in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1), 282.3 (1), 282.2 (2)

Case number in court:

№ 1-27/2023 (1-130/2022; 1-1348/2021)

Court:

Surgut City Court

Judge:

Dmitry Lupin