The last word of the defendant Elena Nesterova in Komsomolsk-on-Amur

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Elena Nesterova in Komsomolsk-on-Amur

March 23, 2023

Khabarovsk Territory

From the courtroom

Speaking with the last word, Elena Nesterova said: "Worshipping God individually or with friends, as well as testifying to other people about biblical teachings, should not be recognized as extremism in a civilized society."

Transcript of the court session in the Central District Court of Komsomolsk-on-Amur dated 03/23/2023 in case No. 1-159/2023 on charges of Nesterova Elena Vladimirovna of committing a crime under Parts 1.1 and 2 of Articles 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Nesterova Elena Vladimirovna:

Dear Court, At the beginning of my last word, I would like to express my gratitude to all those present at this process for participating in such a difficult matter.

Thank you, Your Honor, for the skilful conduct of court proceedings, for the fact that I did not feel any pressure from you, no bias or negative attitude. You tried to listen to everyone and not interrupt anyone. If I misunderstood something from a legal point of view, you tried to calmly explain it to me. Thank you for not choosing a preventive measure for me, but left an obligation to appear, and gave my friends and relatives the opportunity to attend the meeting, making the meeting open.

Thanks to our defenders for their help in court sessions, for helpful advice and support. Thanks to the prosecution for their calm attitude towards me, for your restraint and equanimity. Thank you for pronouncing the name of my God Jehovah correctly. I want to thank the secretary for the human attitude. Thanks to my family and friends for their support and help.

Your Honor, I never thought that as a law-abiding believer I would be sitting in the dock. The persecution by the authorities has left its mark on my whole life and my emotional health. For the second year I have been living with constant stress and anxiety. And all this is because of the unfair accusation of extremism against me. But I am glad that I can stand here in front of you, it is a great honor for me to testify to all those present. All this time, I have remained faithful to God and even strengthened and multiplied my faith in Him. Moreover, I am sure that the biblical prophecy of our Lord Jesus Christ is being fulfilled right now: "And they will lead you to rulers and kings for me, to testify before them."

As a Jehovah's Witness, I have great respect for the Bible and consider it not just a book, but the Word of God given to mankind. The Bible is a guide to life for me. I have been living by the Bible for more than 25 years and I really want to show you that the Bible does not teach extremism, so it is alien to me.

Officially, I am being tried for extremism under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. An exhaustive list of all extremist actions is prescribed in the Federal Law "On Countering Extremist Activities". I am accused of some of them:

forcible change of the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation;

stirring up religious strife;

propaganda of exclusivity, superiority of a person on the basis of his religious affiliation or attitude to religion.

What is really going on? Could I really go against the authorities? In the biblical Letter of the Apostle Paul to the Romans, the 3rd chapter, 1st and 2nd verses say: "Every person must obey the ruling authority, because there is no authority that is not established by God. All existing authorities are established by God. Therefore, whoever rebels against authority, rebels against what God has ordained, and whoever acts in this way brings judgment upon himself." So, the Bible teaches that rebelling against authority is wrong.

In addition, in Peter's First Letter to the 3rd chapter, 14th and 15th verses, it is written: "Be always ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you for an account of your hope, with meekness and respect." As you can see, the Bible teaches not only to be obedient to the authorities, but also to treat them with respect. Which is what I do as a Christian. I am well aware that thanks to the government, order and security are maintained in the country, and the necessary services that I use are provided. Why would I violate this order and commit crimes against the foundations of the constitutional order? My respect for the law is evidenced by the facts — I have never participated in any rallies and protests, acts of vandalism, or court proceedings.

Can I incite religious lies or promote human superiority based on religion? What does the Bible teach me? 1 Peter 2:17: "Treat everyone with respect, love your fellow believers, be in awe of God, honor the king." Galatians 6:10: "So, if we have the opportunity, we will do good to all people." So, the Bible says that it is necessary to treat everyone with "reverence" or with respect, to do good to all people, and not only to our co-religionists, because we all walk before God.

The fact that a person believed in the teachings of one religion and did not agree with the teachings of another does not indicate the presence of hatred or enmity. Recent advances in psychology and linguistics have proved that the preference of one's own religion, the perception of its unique and only true, true, is the cornerstone of almost any religious system, as well as the assessment of other creeds as "wrong", "not leading to salvation", etc. Therefore, religious disputes concerning the content of one's own and other creeds, dogmas and rituals, mutual criticism of religious figures, theologians, public sermons aimed at proving the truth of one's own and the falsity of other teachings are certainly permissible. Therefore, criticism in itself should not be considered as an action aimed at inciting hatred or enmity.

I have already said that the Bible is for me a guide to life. Why? Because its author is God Jehovah, who created everything and gave us life. The case file contains a religious studies study by specialist M. B. Serdyuk, where she states: "It should be noted that such an appeal to God — "Jehovah" is used only in the religious association of Jehovah's Witnesses." It turns out that only Jehovah's Witnesses know the name of God? I want to make it clear.

Many prominent people knew and used the name of God, here are just a few of them: Fyodor Glinka, Alexander Pushkin, Ivan Turgenev, Vasily Zhukovsky, Leo Tolstoy, Vladimir Dahl, Metropolitan Filaret, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Anton Chekhov, Alexander Kuprin, Sergei Yesenin, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Marina Tsvetaeva, Nikolai Ostrovsky, Walter Scott, Shakespeare, Heine. One of the most educated people on the planet, Isaac Newton, loved and revered this name! Among these people were Orthodox Christians and even a Master of theology. The Orthodox encyclopedia says that Jehovah is the name of God. Many Bible translations — Synodal Translation, translation of Archimandrite Makarii, Modern Translation, Semantic Translation, New Testament in modern Russian translation, New Geneva Study Bible, Explanatory Bible — mention the name of Jehovah.

It should be noted that the name "Jesus" consists of two words — "Jehovah" and "salvation", "salvation in Jehovah". It speaks about the significance of the name "Jehovah". At the beginning of his demonstration prayer, Jesus Christ said: "Our Father is in heaven, hallowed be thy name" (Matthew 6:9). He stressed the importance of the Father's name — "Jehovah". And because it was valuable to Jesus, it is just as valuable to his followers. In particular, for me, a peaceful Christian.

Matthew 22:39 says: "Love your neighbor as yourself." I try to follow this advice. Out of love for people, no matter what nationality, religion or race they are, no matter what position in society they occupy, I try to treat them with respect. I try to live by high moral standards, to be an honest, useful person for society.

Your Honor, there are no victims or confirmations of extremist actions and statements in my criminal case; I have positive characteristics from my last job and from the district police officer; I have never been prosecuted before. I had no intention and will never have any intention of continuing to participate in a banned extremist organization. I don't need any legal entity to worship God!

All over the world, Jehovah's Witnesses are known as peace-loving, kind and law-abiding citizens. They live in 239 countries in peace and unity, despite their different languages, culture, customs, skin color, education, social status and nationality. Their rights as believers are respected in the vast majority of countries around the world.

I think it's important to fight those who really incite violence and aggression. But Jehovah's Witnesses are not among them, because they have never taken up arms, even though it cost them their freedom or their lives. An example of this is the facts from history. In Nazi Germany, Jehovah's Witnesses refused to fight and therefore sat in concentration camps, many died there. In Russia, Jehovah's Witnesses were also persecuted. In 1951, during Operation North, thousands of peaceful believers were deported from the western regions of the Soviet Union to Siberia. They were given 2 hours to pack, allowed to take with them only what they could carry in their hands, put into cold freight cars that were not adapted to transporting people, and sent to an eternal settlement in Siberia, in the wilderness of the taiga. This was done to them only because they were Jehovah's Witnesses and believed in God. Many have been in camps for 10, 15, 20 years. They were completely groundlessly condemned under the infamous Article 58. But in 1996 they were rehabilitated. The decree contained the following phrases: "in order to restore justice," "to condemn the long-term terror," "guided by a sense of repentance," "unreasonably accused," "to rehabilitate citizens."

And so history repeats itself. Accusations change, Jehovah's Witnesses can be called "American spies", "enemies of the people" and, finally, "extremists", but their beliefs remain unchanged — regardless of the time period and the countries in which they live. Jehovah's Witnesses, including me, base their beliefs on the word of God — the Bible. Although there are different translations of it, and it is published in various publishing houses, the essence and content of this book remain unchanged. The Bible cannot incite hostility, violence and intransigence in one country, and peace, kindness, love and compassion in other countries! […]

They want to punish me for trying to show love to people, sharing knowledge from the Bible with them, fulfilling the duty of every Christian, which Jesus Christ said in Matthew 28:19, 20: "Go therefore, teach all nations, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." But Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation gives me the right to freely spread religious beliefs and act in accordance with them. I really want as many people as possible to know what I know!

"Imitate God, because you are his beloved children," is what the Bible says. These words make you think: after all, if we are created in the image of God, then it is natural for us to develop the qualities that our Creator has — "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faith, meekness and self-control." Dear court, note that all these are peaceful and creative qualities. No belligerence or hostility. Just imagine if all people tried to imitate the qualities of God, what life would be like! Would it be necessary to issue so many laws and monitor their implementation if there is a Supreme Judge who sees even the impulses of the heart!

By the way, about the laws. To maintain order and justice, people throughout history have to issue a huge number of laws, and then make changes and amendments to them. But God's laws — "do not kill", "do not violate marital fidelity", "do not steal", "do not give false testimony against your neighbor" and so on — are relevant to this day, they do not require adjustments. Therefore, I cannot remain silent about this, because my inaction would be a sign of selfishness and indifference.

Your Honor, the charges have nothing to do with me. Peaceful worship of God individually or with friends, as well as testimony to other people about the biblical teachings, should not be recognized as extremism in a civilized society. I ask you to acquit me.

Thank you for listening to me patiently.

Summary of the case

Region:

Khabarovsk Territory

Locality:

Komsomolsk-on-Amur

What is suspected of:

"Persuaded to participate in the activities of a religious organization ... by persuasion and otherwise involving it in the activities of this extremist organization through false belief in the correctness of its teachings"

Criminal case number:

12102080009000169

Initiated:

September 21, 2021

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigates:

SU IC of the Russian Federation for the Khabarovsk Territory and the EAO

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2), 282.2 (1.1)

The number of the case in court:

1-159/2023 (1-1129/2022)

Court of First Instance:

The Central District Court of Komsomolsk-on-Amur

Judge of the Court of First instance:

Natalia Kazymova