The last word of the defendant Nikolai Saparov in Maykop

 RUSSIA 

 

The last word of the defendant Nikolai Saparov in Maykop

January 17, 2024

Adygea

The believer mentioned that the victims were not listed in the case and compared his trial with the trial of Christ. He stated that he and his family were the only victims in this case.: "We suffered not as criminals... but as those who believe and worship the only living God, Jehovah."

Transcript of the court session in the Maykop City Court of the Republic of Adygea dated 01/17/2024 in case 1-14/2024 on charges of Saparov Nikolay Vladimirovich of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Saparov Nikolay Vladimirovich:

I would like to express my gratitude to all participants in the process: to you, Your Honor, for not preventing visits with my wife and daughter; to the state prosecution for not rejecting all our petitions; to the secretary for his work.

I would also like to thank my defender, Ruslan Kazbekovich Dedukhov, for taking up my defense, for this very difficult case. He has done and is doing his job very efficiently and professionally. He approaches everything not formally, but, I would say, sincerely, with all his soul.

I would also like to thank my friends and co-religionists for not being afraid during this difficult time, helping and supporting my wife, daughter and me in a variety of ways. Thank you very much to everyone who wrote me letters of support! To date, I have received 1,930 letters from 33 countries.

I would like to express my special gratitude to my wife. The following words are written about you in the Bible: "The house and the estate are from the parents, but a reasonable wife is from Jehovah" (Proverbs 19:14). Moreover, the description of the virtuous wife in chapter 31 of the book of Proverbs is also about you, my dear. A difficult burden of caring for me, our daughter and your elderly parents has fallen on your fragile shoulders. And there are many more difficulties and problems — and you carry this load very worthily! My daughter, thank you for supporting your mother and helping her in every possible way. Thank you for your gorgeous drawings that brighten up my everyday life in prison.

And finally, I want to thank the Creator, the only living God, heavenly Father, Jehovah for allowing me to live to this day and entrusting me, my wife and daughter with what his son, Jesus Christ, said: "But you take care of yourselves, because you will be brought to the courts, beaten in synagogues, and they will put you before rulers and kings for me, to testify before them" (Matthew 13:9). What kind of testimony was Jesus talking about? What did he want you to know about? About what he himself preached while he was on earth: about the truths from the Word of God, about the Kingdom of God, that Jesus is the promised Messiah and much more. He also prophesied and commanded his followers in Matthew 24:14: "And this gospel of the Kingdom (the glad tidings of the Kingdom of God) will be preached throughout the whole universe as a witness to all nations."

Jehovah's Witnesses are known all over the world for imitating Jesus Christ and Christians of the first century, sharing with others the truths from God's Word "door to door". And in general, they try to speak wherever there are people. This is their business card. This is how Jehovah's Witnesses fulfill the commission of the Son of God: "Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19, 20). Therefore, as Jehovah's Witnesses, including myself, we try to share the good news from the Word of God, the Bible, with everyone, regardless of their status, nationality, religion, and so on.

Employees of the Investigative Committee, prosecutors and judges are no exception. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find everyone who works in these fields at home. Interestingly, during the time that I have been a Jehovah's Witness (which is more than 26 years), talking to people at home, I have never met employees of the Investigative Committee, prosecutors, and even more so judges. And even if it had happened, it is unlikely that you would have allocated your time for it. Most likely, this is another reason why there have been detentions and trials all over the country related to the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses are accused of extremism only because we use our constitutional right guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. We profess our faith, hold divine services and preach, because the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is not prohibited in the Russian Federation. So all over the country, in all trials, testimony is given about who Jehovah's Witnesses are, what they believe in, who they believe in, what they do. And what is very important is what motivates them and what their motives are.

My indictment says that there are no victims, but this is not the case. There are victims: This is me, my wife, my daughter and the people close to us. Due to the stress caused by my detention, detention and further criminal prosecution, harm has been caused — physically, psychologically and emotionally. Despite all this, my wife, my daughter, me, people close to us and my co-religionists, who find themselves in a similar situation, cope with all difficulties and do not lose heart. Why? The Apostle Peter helps answer this question in his First Letter, the 4th chapter, in verses 14-16: "If you are cursed for the name of Christ, then you are blessed (happy), for the spirit of the word, the spirit of God rests on you. He is blasphemed by those, and glorified by you, if only none of you would suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a villain, or as encroaching on someone else's property. And if you are a Christian, then don't be ashamed, but praise God for such a fate."

Therefore, all of us who suffered are glad that we suffered not as criminals who committed some kind of offenses or crimes, but as those who believe and worship the only living God spoken of in the Bible — Jehovah. Jesus said: "Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is no greater than his master, if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20).

How is this trial similar to the one that took place over Jesus? He was accused of acting against the government and inciting rebellion. Although today everyone knows 100 percent that this is a vile lie, I am also accused of undermining the constitutional order and inciting discord. There was a traitor and false witnesses in the case of Jesus. There is also a traitor and false witnesses in my case. It is also well known that Pontius Pilate was completely confident and convinced that Jesus was innocent and did not deserve the sentence that was asked for him. Nevertheless, Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus, following the lead of others. Although he could restore the honest name of Jesus, restore justice and pass an acquittal, because Jesus Christ was not guilty of anything and did not deserve the death sentence.

There is also no evidence in my case that I continued the activities of a banned religious organization, but there is confirmation that I profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, which is not prohibited. My actions and my motives are based on two basic commandments: love of God and love of neighbor. Your Honor, unlike Pontius Pilate, has a real opportunity to make a fair decision. Since I am not guilty of anything and did not commit what I am accused of, I ask you to justify my honest name and pass an acquittal.

Summary of the case

Region:

Adygea

Locality:

Maykop

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, "commits actions of an organizational nature... expressed in holding meetings using the Internet... coordination of speeches and worship services at these meetings"

Criminal case number:

12202790002000038

Initiated:

March 22, 2022

The current stage of the case: The

Appeal

Is being investigated by the investigative department for the city of Maikop of the SU IC of Russia for the Republic of Adygea

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-14/2024 (1-43/2023; 1-421/2022)

Court:

Maikop City Court of the Republic of Adygea

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Birzhev Zaurbiy