The last word of the defendant Yuri Chernyshev in Moscow

 RUSSIA

The last word of the defendant Yuri Chernyshev in Moscow

March 27, 2023

Moscow

From the courtroom

In his appeal to the court, the believer stated: "I will continue to try to live as a Christian and glorify Jehovah. I will continue to stay away from the crooked road of extremists, the road of enmity and hatred. But I will remain on the narrow path of love leading to eternal life on earth in peace with all people."

Transcript of the court session in the Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow dated 03/27/2023 in the case 1-3/2023 (1-237/2022) on charges of Chernyshev Yuri Evgenievich and others. of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Chernyshev Yuri Evgenievich:

Dear court and everyone who is present in the courtroom today!

Soon the court will have to decide what I deserve now. And the court has something to evaluate: my behavior from August 30, 1963, when I was born in Moscow, to the present day. This is what will allow the court to understand whether my life path corresponds to the crooked path of an extremist.

Since I graduated from the Moscow Institute of Civil Engineering in 1986, I have worked in my specialty for about 36 years in both government and commercial institutions: in the system of a single customer in Moscow for the capital construction of facilities for various purposes; and in the Pervomaisky Executive Committee; and on the construction of office premises of the Luzhniki sports complex" for the reception of foreign delegations at the 2018 FIFA World Cup; and in the Moscow Regional center of the state enterprise "Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network" as deputy chief engineer, where he participated in the reconstruction of the Ostankino TV tower and buildings for the placement of digital television. During all this time, none of my managers even had a thought that I, as a Jehovah's Witness, could cause damage to an enterprise or the state. Moreover, I have been repeatedly awarded for good work, I was awarded a state award — the gratitude of the Minister of Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation "For services to the development of television and radio broadcasting, many years of conscientious work" — and a certificate of honor "For a significant contribution to achieving the statutory goals of the RTRS".

Throughout my life, I have not had a criminal record, I have not had a single police report. I have tried to lead a peaceful and peaceful life, especially since I became a Jehovah's Witness in 1997.

Due to the fact that the Bible has become a guide in the life of our family, I have good relations with my wife and daughter, with believers, as well as with neighbors and relatives.

My daughter has numerous diplomas and awards for excellent studies. At school, she was often praised for her good behavior and noted for her good manners. She is currently a sophomore at a medical college. My daughter graduated from the first year with excellent marks. And in this, Biblical education played a major role.

Is this the kind of life that extremists lead? Is this how they treat their country, work, family and parenting? How should the state reward a person for his work: with a carrot or a stick?

Unfortunately, the answer to this question was extremely illogical, and on November 24, 2020, my life and the life of my family changed. The investigator accused me of something I had never done. I... did not undermine the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the state, did not incite religious strife, did not encourage the severance of kinship and family relations with those who are not Jehovah's Witnesses.

During the investigative actions, it was noticeable that the investigator had no desire to delve into the essence of the case in order to figure it out. He based the accusation on his own conclusions, and he was not interested in either my explanations or the position of the lawyer. The investigator refused all our requests. Even then, his goal became clear — ignoring the facts, to bring charges and bring the case to court. When reviewing the volumes of the criminal case, my lawyer and I did not see evidence of my guilt on any of the charges. There are no witnesses in the case who would confirm the charges against me, there are no victims or victims. We talked about this to the investigator, but he didn't pay attention to it. He said the court would sort it out.

Something similar happened to Jesus Christ, as recorded in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 14, verses 55, 56: "The whole Sanhedrin was looking for those who would testify against Jesus in order to sentence him to death, but they could not find anything against him. Many gave false testimony against him, but they did not match." And yet Jesus was charged and executed. This situation with Jesus is very similar to the actions of the investigation. There is no evidence, but charges must be filed.

And now I am being tried not for violating the law, not for a committed and proven crime, but simply for being a Jehovah's Witness.

Do I profess any fanatical cult that is worthy of such treatment? What was found out during the investigation about my religion and the faith for which I am being tried?

The case file does not show that I worship an idol that requires human sacrifice, participation in immoral orgies or religious wars. No, they say that I worship a God whose name is written in the Bible as Jehovah. We saw this for ourselves in the examined case materials. And this was confirmed in court in the testimony of specialists who professed Orthodoxy. This God was worshipped by such people as Noah, King David and King Solomon, famous for his wisdom, as well as many other people. And it is reasonable to worship him, because Jehovah created the universe, the earth, the animal world and gave birth to the first human couple, Adam and Eve, and therefore all people on earth. He is the Creator, and his name means "He gives to become."

How can I stop worshipping Jehovah God? Not only the Bible, not only nature, but also world history teaches me that this would be an unwise decision.

King Nebuchadnezzar, who was the ruler of Babylon, the most powerful empire of that time, is well known in world history. How did he treat Jehovah God and his servants? In the Book of Daniel, chapter 2, verses 46-48 it is written: "Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his knees before Daniel and paid homage to him...The king said to Daniel: "Truly, your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings..." After that, the king exalted Daniel, he gave him many expensive gifts and made him the ruler of the entire province of Babylon and the chief commander of all the Babylonian sages." Although Nebuchadnezzar did not worship Jehovah, he recognized his greatness and respected his servants.

And here are the words of another powerful and well-known king of Ancient Persia, Cyrus. This is what he said about Jehovah: "Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: "Jehovah, the God of heaven, gave me all the kingdoms of the earth and ordered him to build a house in Jerusalem, in Judea. May all who belong to his people go there and may their God Jehovah be with them" (2 Chronicles 36:23).

Yes, the kings of the great empires recognized Jehovah as the God of Gods and the God of heaven and respected those who worshipped Jehovah, although they had other religious views.

And what about Jesus Christ? Who did he worship? The very name of Jesus contains the answer. In Hebrew, this name sounds Yeshua, which means "Jehovah is salvation." And the majority of the world's population knows the exemplary prayer of Jesus Christ, recorded in the Bible. It begins with the words: "Our heavenly Father, may your name be hallowed." What name did Christ encourage to sanctify? The answer is unequivocal — Jehovah. While living on earth, Jesus told people about Jehovah, his qualities, plans, laws, and much more. Jesus instructed His disciples to do the same. Here are the words of Christ from Matthew, chapter 28, verses 18-20: "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and prepare disciples in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

It is this commission that Jehovah's Witnesses are fulfilling today. And the case materials recorded only how I and my co-believers fulfilled this command. Is it a crime?

Nowadays, the governments of more than 200 countries and territories of the world recognize the right of Jehovah's Witnesses to worship the God Jehovah and do not interfere with their activities. And in Russia, by banning some publications and some religious associations, Jehovah's Witnesses were equated with extremists. It turns out that if Jesus lived in our days, here in Russia, and worshipped his Father Jehovah, he would also be recognized as an extremist and condemned. At least, we examined the case materials and saw that all the statements of Jesus Christ that have come down to our time are already in a publication recognized as extremist. The reasons for this decision are as true as the fact that the moon is a pancake in the sky. After all, the math teacher and two of her subordinates simply stated that the translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses Bible, published in March 2014, is not the Bible. This was the only reason for their expert opinion. Actually, no one even looked for extremist statements in this publication.

Dear court, I am convinced that you also understand that I did not appear before you today for crimes. I didn't commit them. Today I am in the dock for my faith in the true God, for wanting to live the way Jesus Christ taught.

On this occasion, the Apostle Peter said the following: "However, I do not want any of you to suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or someone who does evil, or someone who interferes in other people's affairs. And if someone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him continue to glorify God by living as a Christian" (1 Peter 4:15, 16).

Earlier, Jesus told his disciples: "You are happy when you are insulted, persecuted and slandered because of me. Rejoice and rejoice, because a great reward awaits you in heaven!" (Matthew 5:11, 12).

Following these words, I will continue to try to live as a Christian and glorify Jehovah. I will continue to stay away from the crooked road of extremists, the road of enmity and hatred. But I will remain on the narrow path of love leading to eternal life on earth in peace with all people.

Rest assured, dear court, that the acquittal I am asking for is a fair decision in this case. Only such a sentence corresponds to the way of life I have led and will lead in the future.

In the end, I want to thank you, Your Honor, for being attentive to us, patient and respectful throughout the trial. We gave the opportunity to recover to lawyers who were hospitalized twice while this trial was going on, and also quickly responded to our requests and gave permission to visit a doctor. Thank you for this attitude.

I want to thank the assistant judge and the secretary. Thank you for being very respectful to us and always being polite. It's very nice.

[…]

I am grateful to all my brothers and sisters for their constant support throughout this time, and I am grateful to my dear wife and daughter, who supported me and took care of me.

And of course, I am very grateful to Jehovah for his love and hope for the future! Thank you.

Summary of the case

Region:

Moscow

Locality:

Moscow

Criminal case number:

12002450046000077

Initiated:

November 24, 2020

Current stage of the case:

The appeal

Is investigating:

GSU IC for Moscow

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1), 282.2 (1.1)

Case number in court:

01-0003/2023 (01-0237/2022)

Court:

Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow

Judge:

Evgenia Babinova