The last word of the defendant Viktor Fefilov in Surgut

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Viktor Fefilov in Surgut

November 10, 2023

Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug

In his last word, the believer tried to debunk the myth about his religion: "The statement that "Jehovah's Witnesses pose a threat to society" actually shows how little they know about those they hate, and hatred is often a direct consequence of a lack of knowledge."

Transcript of the court session in the Surgut City Court dated 11/10/2023 in the case № 1-27/2023 (1-130/2022; 1-1348/2021) on the charges of Fefilov Viktor Alexandrovich and others. of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 and Part 1 of Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Fefilov Victor Alexandrovich:

Your Honor, dear court, the participants in the trial! Our court session is coming to an end, and this is a very exciting moment, because, so to speak, we are involved in writing the history of our city, and not only here, but also far beyond its borders.

I would sincerely like to thank the esteemed court for the opportunity to freely talk about my faith and read quotes from the Bible, because this book is a holy book from God, and it cannot be extremist. I am grateful to the respected public prosecutors for their tact and calmness. You tried to pronounce God's name correctly, Jehovah. Also, many thanks to my defenders.

We reviewed the materials of the criminal case in this court session. I and the other defendants were charged with committing crimes under Part 1 of Article 282.2 and Part 1 of Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (extremist activity).

Does this wording apply to me and the other defendants? Of course not. Extremism, in simple words, is a call for violent actions by the social masses. For me and other defendants, such actions are unacceptable, and in my life I have never had or even had such thoughts.

Today, as a believer, I know very well how God treats violence and evil. For example, in the Bible, Romans 12:17 says: "Do not reward evil for evil to anyone, but take care of the good before all people" (Synodal translation). This advice from 1 Peter 3:11 is relevant to me: "Turn away from evil and do good, seek peace and strive for it."

In simple, understandable language, we can conclude: God hates violence and evil in various forms, and as a believer I try to imitate God in this and do my best not to do evil to others. Therefore, many people know me as a peaceful, kind person, as a Jehovah's Witness, and not as an extremist recruiting someone or promoting superiority over other people on the basis of social, racial, religious affiliation, or calling for violent actions, hatred. This has never happened in my life and will never happen.

If we look at some small object from a distance, for example, a coin or a stamp, we can only say approximately what it is. But it is possible to determine exactly what kind of object it is only from a close distance by picking it up. At this court hearing, dear court, participants in the trial, you examined the faith, life, and teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses from a very close distance, and not from afar. Thanks to this, you have seen a lot of true information. Therefore, I would like to thank all of you participating in this court session for a close examination of my faith. A lot has been said about the Word of God, the Bible, which gives everyone the opportunity to get acquainted with this book.

I would like to quote one statement about the Bible by F. M. Dostoevsky: "Lord… What kind of book is this holy Scripture, what a miracle and what power is given to man with it!.. And how many mysteries are solved and revealed... I love this book... The destruction of the people without the word of God, for the soul longs for his word and every beautiful perception" ("Brothers Karamazov"). Dostoevsky is one of the most widely read writers in the world, a classic of world literature. The Bible is available to everyone today, there are many translations of this book, but the thoughts and meanings of the words do not change, and we were convinced of this when we conducted research on various translations of the Bible in this trial. Anyone can take this book at any time, it is available to everyone and start learning what is written in it. Maybe even someone will remember what was said here about this book.

During the court session, dear court, I did not hear about activities related to extremism. Not a single witness who was invited to this court session to testify, both on the part of the prosecution and on the part of the defense, did not provide evidence, signs of these actions — incitement of hatred, hostility, humiliation of human dignity, etc. On the contrary, we have heard only positive things, and there is evidence of this in the case file. I am not a lawyer and I do not want to repeat now what has already been repeatedly cited in defense of me and the defendants by our respected defenders, who have sorted out what extremism is, signs and motives of extremist activity.

I want to say that today I or others do not need to organize or resume anything, since the worship of God ... was organized back in the I century AD by other people (disciples of Jesus Christ), and this order has simply remained until our time. It is well described in the Holy Scriptures, it is not hidden from anyone. What is included in this order? My worship, my prayers to God, reading and discussing the Bible together. None of this is forbidden. What legal act prohibited the worship of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Russian Federation? Where is the evidence that the meetings recorded on the recordings are the activities of a banned organization, as claimed by the respected prosecution, and not a meeting of private individuals?

I am a simple pensioner, I have not committed any violations in my entire life, and today I stand before the court. I am accused of a crime against the constitutional order and the security of the state. Your Honor, I sincerely cannot understand what kind of actions confirm this? Maybe someone does not like the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses, but there are people behind this name, and they have a legitimate right to have a private life, family, children, loved ones, etc. Is it possible to so mercilessly, with one swipe, deprive these people of a peaceful life? Trust in the legal system is easily undermined. How is this possible, dear court? I can't even imagine. I consider the criminal case to be fabricated. Why? Because I am persecuted solely for my faith in God, for the Bible that I read and research, for my prayers to God, for communicating on spiritual topics. The trial revealed that the true reason for the criminal prosecution is my relationship with Jehovah God and my faith, that is, this is the only reason for the accusation. There was no extremist activity and there are no signs of such actions. I would like to get answers to the questions that have arisen.

Dear court, how can I worship God? I would like to know what is possible and what is not. Can I pray to God or is it forbidden? Can I talk about what I learn from the Bible, or is it forbidden? Dear court, I would like to see the right guideline.

I and the other defendants are accused of "financing extremist activities" (Part 1 of Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The following phrase is given in relation to me in the accusation: "By his deliberate actions he committed a crime." What deliberate actions? Who have I hurt? Who has been harmed? I had no intention of doing anything criminal. Even now I cannot realize that my actions are dangerous. There is no such evidence in the criminal case and there cannot be, since I do not wish harm to anyone.

Dear court, with regard to financing, I want to say... that I did not cause any public harm to anyone, I just paid for utilities.

[…]

I and all the defendants are honest people, we love God, we make efforts to live using the wisdom of God, and we never act dishonestly. The Scripture gives advice in Romans 13:1: "Let every soul be subject to higher authorities; for there is no authority not from God, but the existing authorities are established by God." Romans 13:2 reminds us: "Therefore, he who opposes authority opposes the institution of God, and those who resist will bring condemnation upon themselves." I do not want to incur the condemnation of God and I do not want to violate the law of the country in which I live.

Therefore, all voluntary donations went to support the non-residential building on the street. 44 Industrialnaya Street. I honestly and openly, without conspiracy, paid for utilities of the city water utility, urban heating networks, and the Vostok energy company of Surgut. I think these are not extremist organizations. There have never been any other transfers, either to the Management Center of Jehovah's Witnesses or to a Local religious organization.

In the debate, the prosecution stated: "Jehovah's Witnesses pose a threat to society." But this is a lie, dear court! Jehovah's Witnesses have never posed a threat to society, because they are known exclusively as peaceful, humble and kind people not only in our country, but also around the world. And you and I heard only a positive response from the invited witnesses at this court session, and there were quite a few of them.

Therefore, dear court, can Jehovah's Witnesses pose a threat to society? The answer is obvious — no. My friends and I try to show only good qualities in life, for example, these are "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, kindness, faith, meekness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).

[…]

I would like to briefly talk about the good deeds of Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Among these believers are thousands of people who once had one foot in the grave: former drug addicts, alcoholics, bandits and the like.  Today they live life to the fullest and help others.  But who writes about this in the media?  We can continue to talk about how many good deeds Jehovah’s Witnesses do, but these facts cannot be read in newspapers, heard in television reports, and FSB officers do not learn about this from lecturers who teach them “the fight against extremism.”

 Therefore, the statement that “Jehovah's Witnesses are a threat to society” actually shows how little one knows about those they hate, and hatred is often a direct result of a lack of knowledge.

 The absurdity of the situation is that in a democratic state, peaceful citizens (as we learned from this court hearing) who show love for their neighbors and hate any manifestation of evil are accused of extremist activities.  There is such an expression among people as “they threw mud at us”, it turns out that we were simply covered in mud.

 Your Honor, Honorable Court, I want to assure you of my sincerity.  I hate violence and deception, I condemn extremism.  There is no corpus delicti in my actions, so I ask you, your honor, to acquit me.  Thanks a lot!

 Case Summary

 Region:

 Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug

 Locality:

 Surgut

 What is suspected:

 “Gave speeches, participated in field service with local Jehovah’s Witnesses, held meetings with “pioneers”, “elders” and “ministerial servants”, including for the purpose of organizing the activities of the “elders” in the “congregation” “Vzletnoe”  "

 Criminal case number:

 42002007709000023

 Case initiated:

 February 11, 2019

 Current stage of the case:

 Trial before the court of first instance

 Investigates:

 Investigative Department for the city of Surgut Investigative Directorate of the Russian Federation for the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug

 Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

 282.2 (1), 282.3 (1), 282.2 (2)

 Court case number:

 No. 1-27/2023 (1-130/2022; 1-1348/2021)

 Court:

 Surgut City Court

 Judge:

 Dmitry Lupin