The last word of the defendant Valentina Samus in Kostroma

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Valentina Samus in Kostroma

December 18, 2023

Kostroma region

The believer noted: "All my life I have been respectful to representatives of different religions, nationalities, ages and professions." And about her religion, she said: "It's a part of my life that has a positive effect on my character, my family and others, and makes me happy."

Transcript of the court session in the Dimitrovsky District Court of Kostroma dated 12/18/2023 in the case 1-51/2023 on charges of Valentina Grigorievna Samus of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Samus Valentina Grigorievna:

I want to express my gratitude to my beloved husband for never leaving me during this difficult time; to my friends for constant encouragement; to you, Your Honor, for your attentive attitude to my case; to the lawyer for his help; to investigator P. E. Evshin for his polite attitude; and to the FSB staff for that after the search I did not have to clean the apartment and repair the furniture.

I have lived in Kostroma all my life. My mother raised me alone, it was very difficult. I was introduced to the Bible as a child by my nanny, grandmother Varya, from the first floor. I don't remember exactly what she read to me, but I think it was about the execution of an Egyptian pharaoh in the Red Sea. As time went on, I began to have questions about the meaning of life… These questions haunted me, as did the fear of losing my mother and being alone.

I graduated as a paramedic, worked as a doctor in the village, tried to help people as much as I could. Marriage, having children, and the hustle and bustle of life distracted me even more from the main questions, but I still wanted to find answers to them.

I was working in the physiotherapy room of the Kostroma sanatorium when I got my hands on an old issue of the Watchtower magazine, which I read from cover to cover. I was struck by how much it said about Jehovah's love for people. But I didn't know who he was, so I started going to all the Orthodox churches and bought a Bible. I learned that you can't worship idols, but you have to pray, you have to change your temper. Going to church didn't help me in this, and when an elderly priest was rude to me, I stopped going there altogether.

But I had the Bible. Studying it, I gradually began to change my character, and I got rid of some bad habits altogether. The Bible, like a mirror, highlights all the shortcomings, and also gives practical advice on how to deal with them. I felt for myself the truthfulness of the words from 2 Timothy, the 3rd chapter, the 16th and 17th verses, where it is written: "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be perfect, prepared for every good deed."

In general, there are a lot of useful tips in this book: how to treat money, work, how to get along with family members and other people. This is the exact opposite of the extremist activity that I am accused of.

And the most important thing is that I finally got answers to the most important questions.: Who is God? Who is Jesus Christ? What is the meaning of life? What happens when a person dies? Will we be able to meet the dead? What is the Kingdom of God? This knowledge helped me to survive a terrible tragedy: our daughter Katya died, she was only 22 years old. And then Mom died. There was trouble with my son. And if it weren't for God Jehovah, his Word and the help of friends, you wouldn't survive all this.

And how I want to share knowledge from the Bible with other people! Especially with those who are depressed, yearning, discouraged, or facing the death of loved ones. This was the motive for all my actions — the desire to help others overcome grief and find hope, which is written in the Bible, for example, about the resurrection of the dead and the possibility of living forever in paradise on earth. I am sure that Jehovah God's plan for the future will be realized at a certain time, exactly to the day and hour, since Jehovah is "a God who cannot lie" (Letter to Titus, 1st chapter, 2nd verse).

My religion teaches me only good things: not to kill, not to cheat, not to be a mean person, not to wish evil to my neighbor, not to envy, not to ruin myself, to be kind and compassionate, humble and conscientious, to see the good in everyone, to wish my neighbor all the best, to help, love, enjoy life. How can such a peaceful religion be called extremist? It's not clear to me.

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has not banned the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Therefore, as a believer, I still have the right to freely practice my chosen religion, including reading the Bible and discussing it with others, praying to God, singing songs praising God, and talking to other people about my faith. This is not a crime, it is an ordinary religious activity of a believer. This is a part of my life that has a positive effect on my character, my family and others, and makes me happy, despite my advanced age and various diseases.

The law does not prohibit me from communicating with people in a respectful manner using the phone or the Internet. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, video conferencing was the safest way to communicate, and I openly declare this as a healthcare professional. At that time, many institutions and even courts used videoconferencing.

I only found out about the existence of the MRO from the investigator. I had nothing to do with him and did not involve anyone anywhere. For what? What for? As the saying goes: "Go there, I don't know where, take that, I don't know what." It doesn't make any sense.

I learned from the Bible that God has many titles: "Lord Lord", "Creator", "Almighty", "Supreme", "Creator". But he chose his own name. In the book of Isaiah, chapter 42, verse 8, it says: "I am Jehovah, this is my Name, and I will not give my glory to another, nor My praise to idols." It is holy, reveals his personality, purpose, and wonderful qualities, and he himself says that it should be "proclaimed throughout the earth."

In the new Explanatory Bible in 12 volumes, published by the Russian Orthodox Church, in the 1st volume on page 154 it is said that "Jehovah ... is the name of God" and "All the Old Testament prophets preferred to use this name of God." Therefore, it is widely found in the works of Russian and foreign writers and poets: Shakespeare, Walter Scott, Byron, Hugo, Dumas, Lesya Ukrainka, Kipling, Jack London, Nietzsche, Remarque, Andersen, Glinka, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Turgenev, Chekhov, Radishchev, Karamzin, Yesenin and others.

I began to practice the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, as there is a biblical basis for this. The Book of Isaiah says: "But my witnesses, Jehovah says, are you and My servant, whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me, and understand that this is Me. There was no God before Me and there will be no God after Me." The word of God and my religion, which is not prohibited by law, encourage co-religionists to come together to support each other and help them continue to lead a highly moral life, help those in need financially and spiritually, answering the disturbing questions that I once had. I am very glad that I was able to find answers to these questions, and it changed my life for the better.

I am an elderly man, a medical worker and far from law. But during this trial, I realized that I was being held accountable not for committing a crime, but for my religious beliefs, for my peaceful and law-abiding lifestyle, for my sincere desire to selflessly help other people, to talk about what I myself learned from the Bible.

All my life, I have been respectful to representatives of different religions, nationalities, ages and professions. Once, when I came to a call, my main goal was to provide emergency medical care to a person in order to save his life and make him recover as quickly as possible. Therefore, I have never shown hatred, hostility or violence to anyone. And the Bible has taught me even more — to respect a person's right to choose and their sense of self-worth.

Thank you, Your Honor and the participants in the trial, for listening to me carefully.

I ask you to look into this case and make a fair decision, fully acquitting me for the lack of corpus delicti.

Summary of the case

Region:

Kostroma region

Locality:

Kostroma

What is suspected of:

"She organized and participated in a religious meeting — a collective worship service in remote mode through video conferencing, consisting of consistently performed actions: reading prayers to Jehovah God and singing songs from special texts of the religious teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses, watching videos on religious topics, quoting articles from the religious literature of Jehovah's Witnesses, studying what she read, practicing skills of service" (from the decision on involvement as an accused)

Criminal case number:

12202340010000010

Initiated:

February 17, 2022

The current stage of the case:

The appeal

Is being investigated by:

SU IC of the Russian Federation for the Kostroma region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-51/2023

Court of first instance:

Dimitrovsky District Court of Kostroma

Judge of the Court of First instance:

Maria Zaikina