The last word of the defendant Andrey Lyakhov in Luchegorsk

 RUSSIA 


The last word of the defendant Andrey Lyakhov in Luchegorsk

January 17, 2024

Primorsky Krai


In his last words, the defendant explained to the court: "Faith in God teaches me kindness, love for the people around me. For me, being a Christian means respecting every citizen and every person's religion."


Transcript of the court session in the Pozharsky District Court of Primorsky Krai, Luchegorsk, dated 01/17/2024 in the case 1-22/2023 on charges of Andrei Viktorovich Lyakhov and others. of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.


Lyakhov Andrey Viktorovich:


In my last word, I would like to thank all the participants in the trial for their patience. Thanks to Judge Mikhail Atroshko, the secretary. I also want to thank our defenders, who helped to sort out this situation, and the prosecutor.


I have studied the materials of the criminal case, the prosecution, and it is unclear to me exactly because of what my actions I am accused of a crime.


In my written notes, which are attached to the materials of the criminal case, I have already said that in Russian the form of God's name sounds like "Jehovah"; I said that faith in God teaches me kindness, love for people around me; that for me to be a Christian means to respect every citizen and religion of every person. It is important for me to fulfill God's law, for example, the commandment "love your neighbor as yourself."


There were no believers in our family, except for my grandmother. She was born in 1918. During the Second World War, she found herself in a very difficult situation. She always cried when she thought about it. I learned from my grandmother that there is a God who created everything, and his name is Jehovah. These words touched my heart in a special way and aroused confidence in the Creator. Since then, I have always turned to him for help.


Later, in 2016, I learned about Jehovah's Witnesses. After the prohibition of the legal organization and the liquidation of the meeting room, as I already said in the testimony, all activities of the legal entity were terminated. There is not a single proof that I participated in events that somehow resemble extremism and are aimed at inciting religious and social hatred, hostility towards people who profess another religion.


There are tips in the Bible on how to treat the law and show obedience. In James 2:10, the following words are recorded: "Whoever keeps the whole law and sins in one thing, he becomes guilty of everything." That is, violating even one part of the law makes a person a criminal. And I follow the law. I ask the court to drop the charges against me.


The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not forbid me to discuss biblical issues with my friends or family and thus perform divine services. This constitutional right does not depend on the presence or absence of a legal entity or any kind of registration. Discussion of the Bible by a group of people is not included in the list of types of extremist activity. On October 28, 2021, the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation ruled that such worship services of Jehovah's Witnesses, their joint conduct of rituals and ceremonies in themselves do not constitute a crime under art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, despite the liquidation of legal entities.


My views are the exact opposite of what is called extremism. Neither the Supreme Court nor the Government of the Russian Federation consider it illegal to practice the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. I also share their point of view.


Summary of the case


Region:

Primorsky Krai

Locality:

Luchegorsk

Criminal case number:

12102050012000058

Initiated:

July 16, 2021

Current stage of the case:

Proceedings in the court of first instance

Investigates:

From Dalnerechensk to the SU IC of the Russian Federation in the Primorsky Territory

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2), 282.2 (1)

The number of the case in court:

1-6/2024 (1-22/2023; 1-197/2022)

The Court of First Instance:

Pozharsky District Court of Primorsky Krai

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Mikhail Atroshko

Comentarios

Publicar un comentario

Entradas populares de este blog

Appeal in Samara Upholds the Conviction of Aleksandr Dolganov — Three Years in Prison for Faith in Jehovah God

 RUSSIA Appeal in Samara Upholds the Conviction of Aleksandr Dolganov — Three Years in Prison for Faith in Jehovah God October 1, 2024 Samara Region On September 27, 2024, the panel of judges of the Samara Regional Court agreed with the decision of the first instance in the case of Aleksandr Dolganov. Although the term of punishment for the believer, 35, remained the same, the appeal counted the time under house arrest against the punishment at the rate of 1 day of house arrest for 1 day of colony. According to this decision, Dolganov should serve his sentence a month and a half earlier. Earlier, the Avtozavodskiy District Court of the city of Tolyatti considered it a crime for Dolganov to hold services of Jehovah's Witnesses. According to the believer, this contradicts the explanations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, so he appealed the verdict. Addressing the panel of judges, Dolganov said: "Bible principles taught me to be a kind, caring, patien...
Leer más

Jehovah's witnesses can refuse blood transfusions, decides the Supreme Court (STF).

 BRASIL  Jehovah's witnesses can refuse blood transfusions, decides the Supreme Court (STF). 26/09/2024 The thesis that determines the state the cost of alternative treatments that are available from the Unified Health System (SUS) and that do not involve blood transfusion was fixed. The Supreme Court (STF) ruled on Wednesday (25/9) that medical patients can refuse blood transfusion for religious reasons. The plenary discussed extraordinary appeals (REs) 979742 (topic of General repercussion 952) and 1212272 (topic of General repercussion 1069), which deal with the right to perform surgery without blood transfusion for patients Jehovah's witnesses, a religion that does not accept this type of treatment. In RE 979742, the position of Rapporteur Minister Luís Roberto Barroso prevailed. In his vote, the president of the Supreme Court allowed Jehovah's witnesses to refuse blood transfusions, as long as this refusal meets requirements such as the patient being of legal age, capa...
Leer más

Appeal in Moscow Toughens the Punishment for One of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Terms for Two Other Believers Remain Intact

 RUSSIA Appeal in Moscow Toughens the Punishment for One of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Terms for Two Other Believers Remain Intact October 4, 2024 Moscow On October 3, 2024, the verdict against Anatoliy Marunov, Sergey Tolokonnikov and Roman Mareyev came into force. At the same time, the Moscow City Court added two months to Tolokonnikov's term. Three believers received from four and a half to six and a half years in prison. "The court criminalized the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses," the believers' lawyer said in the appeal. "The result was that the court declared the peaceful and socially harmless practice of religion a crime." Roman Mareyev stressed that the decision of the first instance violates Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which guarantees freedom of conscience and religion. He also noted: "The court did not establish the presence of motives of religious hatred or enmity in my actions, and did not establish agai...
Leer más