Konstantin Petrov's last word in Magadan

 RUSSIA

 

Konstantin Petrov's last word in Magadan

on February 9, 2024

Magadan region

"We are glad that we can act in accordance with the truth, with the truth, that then we will not be in "excruciating pain," Konstantin Petrov said, addressing the court. "It's better to be in prison with a clear conscience than to remain free with the understanding that I did the wrong thing."

Transcript of the court session in the Magadan City Court of the Magadan region dated 02/09/2024 in the case 1-6/2024 (1-12/2023) on charges of Konstantin Nikolaevich Petrov and others. of committing a crime under Part 1 of Articles 282.2 and 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Konstantin Nikolaevich Petrov: Your Honor! First of all, I would like to thank you for conducting the trial with dignity and for being quite loyal to the defendants all this time. You took into account that we did not fully understand some procedural points, since we do not have a legal education. Thank you very much.

It is a great honor for me to speak in my defense in front of the court, in front of the respected prosecutor and in front of our lawyers. I am glad that I can defend my name and the name of God. Participation in this process was quite difficult, but interesting. [...] I hope my speech, Your Honor, will help you look at the situation from different angles, and from our side too.

We all want to do the right thing. And the prosecutors, and the lawyers, and we, the defendants. But the understanding of what is right is different for all people. That is why there are appellate and cassation instances, the Supreme Court. There are two sides — the defense side and the prosecution side, because people look at different things differently, interpret them differently. And during this process, the court tried to find out the truth. This is the purpose of the proceedings.

In my speech, I would like to show what guided me when I continued to believe in the God Jehovah and profess this faith in the way accepted by Jehovah's Witnesses. Perhaps, to some extent, you will put yourself in our place and decide whether we did the right thing or not.

What are people guided by when they make certain decisions? Generally accepted norms of behavior, upbringing, the law, the opinion of superiors, family, colleagues, and so on. We, Jehovah's Witnesses, are guided, among other things, by the Bible, which sets out the opinion of God. For us, the Bible is the ultimate truth.

"What is truth?" This question was asked more than two thousand years ago by a famous judge, the ruler of Judea Pilate. He asked this question to another famous person — the teacher and preacher Jesus Christ. They were completely different. And on one point their opinions differed absolutely — on the question of truth.

The task of legal proceedings is to establish the truth. We may have different views on the accusation, on the truth, on other issues, and in this process we have seen that many people look at the same things differently. Why are we being judged? For what? We are sometimes asked this question. I and my co-religionists are being judged for the same thing that Jesus was judged for. He explained: "This is why I was born and this is why I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth" (John 18:37). Today we stand before you for the same reason — because we, like other Jehovah's Witnesses, testified to the truth.

For this, Christians have stood before judges throughout history. And this is not surprising, because the Bible predicted that "all who wish to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12). In the Roman Empire, Christians were persecuted for not recognizing the divinity of the emperor, although this was a requirement of the law.

The Apostle John, who wrote the fourth Gospel, was also persecuted. When he was over 90 years old, he was considered such a threat to the Roman Empire that he was sent into exile on the island of Patmos. For what crime? Because he "talked about God and testified about Jesus." There were persecutions for the faith in Hitler's Germany, the Soviet Union and other countries. And today we are being judged for testifying to the truth. As the prosecutor said during the debate, for the fact that we consider our religion to be "exceptional", that is, true. But any sincere believer considers only his faith to be true. And if he doubts this, how can you call him a believer?

You, Your Honor, could make sure that we respect and love people, and do not speak disparagingly about them. This is confirmed by all the case materials and even by prosecution witnesses. None of the accused offended anyone's feelings. But, according to the prosecutor's office, the fact that we consider our faith to be the only correct one shows that we are committing a crime. Is it fair?

The prosecutor has the right to think so. And naturally, Marina Nikolaevna considers her opinion to be more correct than the opinion of the defense. This is logical. In other words, the prosecution considers its opinion "exceptional". Of course, the prosecutor does not say that the defense is somehow flawed because of this; and we are grateful that we were treated with respect throughout the process, not considering us unworthy.

But the prosecutor has an opinion about the defendants. Opinions may vary, but the important question is: is there a correct opinion? From the point of view of the law, yes. There cannot be two equally correct understandings of the law that contradict each other. A person is either a criminal or not. Who decides this? Unfortunately, this is decided by people who can make mistakes.

In the past, the fate of Jesus on earth was to some extent decided by Pilate. Of course, he made the wrong decision by condemning Jesus Christ. What was his motivation? He was guided by the opinion of his surroundings, not by the truth. They had different opinions about the truth. The Bible says that after asking the question "what is truth?" Pilate immediately left the hall. Most likely, the Roman ruler asked this question simply out of disbelief, as if saying: "The truth? What's it? She just doesn't exist!"

Unfortunately, this view can be seen in many people today. Many people believe that truth is relative. In other words, what is true for one person may not be true for another, but both of them are right. This is taught by religious leaders, it is instilled in schools and disseminated in the media. Why am I talking about this? Because such an opinion has its consequences. Whoever discards true values must be prepared to live with the consequences. Your Honor, I would like you to look at this situation from more than one angle. I would like you to be guided by the truth in your decision.

It seems that both the investigation and the prosecutor's office are trying to convey to us the idea that it is bad to assume that we are true believers. You cannot consider your religion to be true. "Everyone has their own truth." One bishop said, "We must... stop thinking that we have the truth... and we need to understand that the absolute truth is incomprehensible." What does this approach lead to? Nowadays, people easily abandon any firm norms of behavior, saying: "Let everyone decide for themselves." And it seems that this is causing more and more crimes, because the norms and moral values that our parents lived by are now considered old-fashioned and often ridiculed by those who do not take into account or do not know the opinion of God.

Why can't I agree with this approach? One professor said a very logical thing: "If everyone has their own truth, then some person's idea can never be better than another person's idea. They should all be equal. And if all ideas are equal, what's the point of doing research on anything? Why dig into the ground in search of answers to archaeological questions? Why look for a cure for cancer? Why explore the galaxy? These classes make sense only when some answers are better than others, when the truth is something separate from personal aspects and not influenced by them."

In fact, there is not a single person who actually believes that truth does not exist. How many of us would dare to fly an airplane if we didn't believe that the laws of aerodynamics are absolute truths? The same is true of moral laws. If the majority believes that everyone has their own truth, human society is in decline. Each of us, and you, Your Honor, can take one side or the other in this matter.

Personally, I realize that any decision has its consequences, good and bad. For example, I understood that if I continued to believe in Jehovah after the liquidation of the legal entity, I might be misunderstood, my actions would be misinterpreted. But what, Your Honor, was I supposed to do? What would be the right solution? And what would you do in this case — would you give up your beliefs just because others might misunderstand them? Would you change your religion knowing that it is not prohibited by law?

Interestingly, the Bible calls it madness that people disregard the norms of righteousness. After all, it's like ignoring the physical laws of the universe. The word "madly" is translated from the Greek word, which literally means "being near the mind" (2 Peter 2:15, 16). Sometimes someone can assert something, and we understand that there seems to be a grain of truth in his words, but in fact it is only "being close to the truth." These are grains of truth.

The word "madness" is also used in the Bible when describing the actions of one prophet, Balaam. When the Jews went to the Promised Land, the neighboring nations were very worried, believing that something was threatening them. One king decided to hire Balaam, a famous religious figure of the time, to curse the Israelites. The Prophet tried to do this three times, but each time God turned curses into blessings. The Bible calls Balaam's actions insane, that is, they do not correspond to the truth.

We saw similar things during the process. Some prosecution witnesses tried to say things that were not true. In your career, Your Honor, you've probably seen a lot of people cheat. Surely you can distinguish the truth from a lie, you know what consequences a lie can lead to. Lies can be different — malicious or unintentional, explicit or implicit. But lying is always harmful. During the trial, we saw that many of the testimony of prosecution witnesses was either distorted or misinterpreted in accordance with reality. Simply put, it wasn't true. It is not true that we allegedly contacted the Management Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia after its liquidation, that letters from the Management Center were read out during meetings, that donations were sent to the Management Center. All of this is a lie. Of course, it is not my task to determine the degree of malice. And, probably, it is not really necessary. I can only say that distortions have never led to anything good.

But the truth cannot be resisted. None of the prosecution's witnesses could prove that we were criminals. Instead, the situation with Valaam was repeated: he wanted to defame, but he could only bless. Why? There is an amazing prophecy in the Bible that is being fulfilled right in this courthouse, it is recorded in Isaiah 54:17: "No weapon made against you will succeed; and every tongue that will compete with you in court, you will accuse. This is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, their justification from me, says the Lord."

All the prosecution witnesses spoke with one voice about what good people the defendants are, how pleasant it is to communicate with them and what high moral standards they adhere to. Because facts cannot be countered by distortions.

I want to emphasize that we did not violate the law after the liquidation of the Management Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. It is our duty, as it is the duty of all Christians, to obey the authorities. Therefore, after the liquidation, we had no relations with the abolished legal entity.

[…]

"Organizing the activities of an extremist organization" — we are accused of this. But what is the organization of an organization liquidated for extremism, that is, what is a criminal act? Let's imagine that a certain company engaged in the production of dairy products has been liquidated. For example, because she considers her products to be the best in the world. But at the same time, the technologies used to create these products were recognized as safe and legal. Will it be considered a violation of the law or, say, extremism if someone then wants to make cheese or sour cream using the same technologies? According to the law of the Russian Federation, no. The safe recipe can be reproduced without any restrictions. The only limitation is that there should be no signs of the same punishable act for which the company was liquidated. And regardless of how this activity is carried out, whether someone makes this cheese alone or at another enterprise, all this is a completely legitimate activity.

Our "recipe" was also recognized as safe. Accordingly, the law allows it to be reproduced without any restrictions.

People may have different opinions about the legality or illegality, benefit or harm of certain actions. In order to put an end to what others may interpret differently, there is a Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation gave explanations: in order for the activities of certain persons to fall under criminal liability, alleged by Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, extremism and extremist motives must be traced in the actions of such persons. That is, the fact that the actions and motive were extremist must be proved. Is there any such evidence against me or the other defendants? No. The only phrase from the accusation that can remotely resemble words from the law is that we consider our faith to be exceptional or correct.

Why do I think my faith is right? In 1 John 2:4 it is written: "Whoever says, 'I have known him,' but does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and there is no truth in him."

Accordingly, if someone keeps the commandments, then he has "known" God and can consider himself a true believer. These are simple words, but they reflect the opinion of God. God declares righteous those who keep his commandments. If Almighty God says this, then why should we doubt that we are really true believers? Yes, there may be different opinions on this matter. How can there be different opinions in understanding and interpreting the laws? But spreading the dogma of the truth or exclusivity of a certain opinion is not considered illegal in our country.

Of course, the opinions of people and the law may change. For example, at different times Christians lived on the territory of states with different laws. And Christians agreed that people in authority had the right to make certain decisions. Nevertheless, if in some locality faith in God was considered illegal, then both the first Christians and modern Jehovah's Witnesses spoke in the words of the Apostle Peter: "We cannot but talk about what we have seen and heard."

Giorgio Bouchard, former president of the Federation of Evangelical Churches of Italy, said about the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany: "While the ministers of the "big churches" meekly marched with German troops all the way to Stalingrad, hundreds of Jehovah's Witnesses, as martyrs, died in prisons and concentration camps for their beliefs. [...] No other religion has paid such a high price as Jehovah's Witnesses. [...] They were oppressed not for their race, but for their deep faith, peacefulness and political neutrality, which were not held in high esteem at that time. This is a significant page in the history of Jehovah's Witnesses, and it must be kept in memory. The feat of these people is worthy of infinite respect."

These people could not give up their faith. And I can't give up my faith.

Is the purpose of the Criminal Code to force a person to abandon faith in God? No. The Russian Federation is a secular state. If there was absolutely no crime, then religion should not be the subject of legal proceedings. The state does not have the right to decide what a person can believe in and what not. This fact was pointed out by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, stressing that the legality of the doctrine and worship of Jehovah's Witnesses was not assessed by it.

Your Honor, imagine yourself in our place. Jesus gave a clear command to all his followers: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and prepare disciples in all nations" (Matthew 28:18, 19). How can we say to Jesus, "Sorry, not now"? Therefore, as a Christian, I cannot abandon my faith and stop professing it.

In the end, a little bit about the good things. Each of us is a believer to some extent. They say there are no atheists on a sinking ship. However, many people are convinced of the existence of God not only by stressful situations, but also by scientific facts. About our Earth, about its position in the Solar system, its ideal orbit. About how amazingly the position of the Moon affects the Earth. This makes it possible to change the seasons. We can not only live, but also enjoy life.

One person noted: "It is not difficult to understand why many scientists have changed their views over the past 30 years. It takes a lot of faith to accept the view that the origin of the universe is explained by an accidental cosmic catastrophe. The more knowledge we gain about our carefully designed house, the more obvious it becomes that it has a reasonable designer."

But it is not only these cosmic things that convince of the existence of the Creator. God has given us a mind and a body with all the necessary organs. He endowed us with the qualities that are required for various types of activities. We can talk and listen, as well as write and read. All human achievements are possible solely due to their ability to think and perceive the world around them. Would great works of art, amazing machines and structures have appeared without God-given abilities? We are completely dependent on God. Everything is in his power.

What feelings does injustice evoke in God? And what feelings does it evoke in us? The answer is obvious — God also does not like injustice and all the actions and ideas that lead to it. With the help of Jesus Christ, God will eliminate sin, the cause of injustice, and make people perfect — the way they should be according to his plan. That time is coming soon. Yes, someone does not believe in this, each person decides for himself what to do. God has given such freedom to people, and he expects that it will be used correctly.

You, Your Honor, understand better than anyone that the truth cannot be relative. In this process, we tried to figure out where the truth is and where the lie is. Of course, our vision is incomplete anyway, we are just people. Only God has an absolutely objective picture. And I'm sure he knows perfectly well who is right and how right.

I wanted to make decisions that I wouldn't be ashamed of later, and I'm not ashamed that I kept my faith. Yes, someone may be guided by the so-called "situational ethics", but I cannot give up my beliefs, from communicating with my co-religionists, from talking about God. This is my conscience.

I admire the behavior of my friends who are in the dock with me. They have been enduring hardships for more than five years now. They are firm in standing up for the truth even in the face of trials. Of course, Jehovah is also proud that his servants follow exactly in the footsteps of his son Jesus Christ. And you, Your Honor, could see that faith has made them better, that they are all respectable people.

I admire the example of my dear wife, who has supported me physically and emotionally all these years. Although the nighttime detention with the use of weapons by law enforcement officers left deep emotional wounds for her and contributed to various fears that have been reminding her of themselves for several years, my dear wife was able to endure everything. Moreover, after her arrest, she brought me homemade food every day in the pre-trial detention center, because there was no gluten-free food there. I think it's a feat. And I am happy to have such a selfless, loving person next to me.

I am proud to know people who persevere through trials and at the same time show the best qualities in dealing with those who do not understand them. These people did not become embittered, they did not lose all hope. They are alive and joyful. They show love even to those who oppose them.

Of course, whatever the court's decision is, it will affect our future. But I believe in the strengthening words of the Apostle Paul: "Our suffering produces eternal glory in immeasurable abundance, when we look not at the visible, but at the invisible: for the visible is temporary, but the invisible is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:17, 18).

We are looking to the future. This is only one chapter, there is still a whole book ahead. And I'm not ashamed of the way I lived this chapter.

The truth and the truth do not change depending on the time, the conjuncture, and the will of others. The truth is eternal. And it will always be like this. We are glad that we can act in accordance with the truth, with the truth, that then we will not be "painfully hurt." It is better to sit in prison with a clear conscience than to remain free with the understanding that I did wrong.

Everything has its time limit. It has come to an end and this is a great time when we could speak in front of you in our defense. We will all have some memories. Both you, Your Honor, and the prosecutors have already formed a definite opinion about each of us. Lawyers also have their own understanding. But the main thing is not what opinion people have, the main thing is what the Creator thinks about us, because his opinion is objective in an absolute sense.

I hope that I have managed to present my vision of the situation, and that Your Honor will take a broader look at this court case. I ask you to fully acquit me and all the accused in this case.

Summary of the case

Region:

Magadan region

Locality:

Magadan

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, he conducted divine services together with others, which is interpreted as "organizing the activities of an extremist organization"

Criminal case number:

11807440001000013

Initiated:

May 30, 2018

Current stage of the case:

Proceedings in the court of first instance

Investigating:

2nd investigative department of the 3rd Department for the investigation of particularly important cases of the SU IC of the Russian Federation in the Irkutsk region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2), 282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)

The number of the case in court:

1-6/2024 (1-12/2023, 1-220/2022)

Court of First instance:

Magadan City Court of the Magadan region

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Tatyana Belaeva