The last word of the defendant Denis Sarazhakov in Irkutsk

 RUSSIA 

 

The last word of the defendant Denis Sarazhakov in Irkutsk

January 25, 2024

Irkutsk region

In his appeal to the court, Denis Sarazhakov stressed that the crime imputed to him contradicts his principles of life: "I would rather endure suffering, I would rather endure hardship, inconvenience and injustice, but I will never start doing evil."

Transcript of the court session in the Oktyabrsky District Court of Irkutsk dated 01/25/2024 in the case 1-6/2024 (1-105/2023; 1857/2022) on the charges of Denis Alexandrovich Sarazhakov and others. of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Sarazhakov Denis Alexandrovich:

Thank you for giving me the floor. Dear Court, Your Honor! I would also like to start my speech with words of gratitude. First of all, I want to thank my wife for her care and love during these 2 years and 2 months. I am grateful to my relatives and friends who came to the meetings and wrote me letters of encouragement. It was a powerful support for me. I didn't lose heart.

Your Honor! I am also very grateful to you, because there were many of us. We also spoke out a lot, because we want to defend ourselves, we want to reach your heart. And you didn't interrupt us. Thank you very much for that.

I am also grateful to the state prosecutor Alexander Igorevich. Although you are my opponent, you greeted us, said goodbye, and even wished us good luck. It was so nice to hear that from you.

I also want to thank our lawyers. They are professionals in their field. This applies to all lawyers: we were provided with good, qualified legal assistance. Many of you just put your soul into us to protect us, and it was very pleasant.

I would also like to thank the guards, because this is not an easy job, the prisoners are different, but we were treated with respect. And it's nice — our rights have not been violated.

Now let me get to the essence of my last word. Of course, I am very upset about the unfair criminal prosecution. And during these 2 years and 2 months that I spent in the detention center, it was just an avalanche of injustice, an avalanche of difficulties. It is especially upsetting that since childhood I have made conscious efforts: I have worked on myself to remain an honest, fair, responsible, highly moral person, to be law-abiding. For me, even contradicting the teacher was already a shame, I remember it well. But, unfortunately, no matter how paradoxical it may sound, I am now here in the dock, and I am accused of a serious crime.

During these 2 years and 2 months in jail, I crossed paths with a variety of people. These people are accused of various crimes: murder, injury to health, theft, theft, robbery, drug distribution, rape. And neither I nor these people are surprised why they are in a pre-trial detention center, why they are being prosecuted, why they are being tried. But they are surprised that they judge me.

I'm also wondering: "For what?" For the fact that, perhaps, some extremist appeals were heard during the services? Did I encourage someone to show hatred towards representatives of another religion or towards the state? No. There is no such thing in the case file. Or maybe I'm being judged for hurting someone, touching someone's feelings, or restricting their rights? Also, no, because there are no victims or victims in the case file. Therefore, the only conclusion I have come to is that I am being judged for my religion, for being a Jehovah's Witness, for attending peaceful worship services without signs of extremism — discussing the Bible, religious topics, praying and singing songs. I don't see any other explanation. And, you know, although I am accused of extremism, I realized that I am the victim of extremism. It is towards me that hatred and prejudice on religious grounds are manifested.

Now I want to tell you about my motives, since the accusation has repeatedly stated that I acted allegedly out of religious extremist motives. I will quote once again the phrase, the biblical expression: "From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." That is, by a person's speech, by the topics of his conversations, you can understand what he feels, what his desires, dreams, thoughts are. The strong feelings that a person has cannot be restrained, it is impossible not to talk about them, not to show them in any way. And hate is a strong feeling. Hatred of the state, hatred of representatives of other religions — if I had these strong feelings, I would not have held them back, I would have talked about them, I would have acted in accordance with these feelings. But what was it about at the divine services that I attended in January of the twenty-first year? It was about showing love for people — about the exact opposite! It was about encouraging and supporting other people. I even gave an example that we should be like a bonfire that doesn't choose who to warm. We must support and encourage all people. We talked about how to treat the elderly with respect, how to reject evil, do good. This is absolutely the opposite of extremism!

[…]

I want to give you one more argument to confirm that I have no negative feelings towards government officials or anyone else - this is my behavior during detention in a pre—trial detention center. It has already been mentioned today how prisoners, defendants and defendants are trying to defend their rights and justice. They resort to the most extreme measures (I hear and see this every day in the pre-trial detention center): self-mutilation, destruction of pre-trial detention center property, insults and humiliation of pre-trial detention center employees, constant high-pitched conversations. But I recently read the Bible book of Job and found a Bible verse there, an expression that reflects my attitude. It says: "Take care that you do not do evil, preferring it to suffering." So, I would rather endure suffering, I would rather endure privation, inconvenience and injustice, but I will never begin to commit evil. I will never do evil like others do. And during my detention in the pre-trial detention center, on the contrary, thanks to my calmness, I have developed mutual respectful relations with the staff of the pre-trial detention center. No one makes any claims, because I treat them with respect. And although during this time I have faced injustice and the most severe persecution, I have not hardened. I have not become rude, cruel, I am still a peaceful person.

Why don't I admit guilt? I also wanted to draw attention to this point. Your Honor, it's not because I'm some kind of stubborn person or I don't want to figure out the charges against me. No. It's just because I'm sincerely sure that I didn't commit any crime.

Yesterday it was mentioned that there are Jehovah's Witnesses in almost all countries of the world, in some countries - for more than 100 years. But I will say more: Jehovah's Witnesses are a large international spiritual family in which unity reigns. We are different people of different nationalities, cultures, upbringing, education, social status — all sorts of different people. But we are united, united by the fact that we worship the same God Jehovah, by the fact that we believe in the same biblical teachings, by the fact that we live by the same biblical principles and norms. That is, they [Jehovah's Witnesses in other countries] profess religion in the same way as I profess it in our country. But I have not heard of a religious group of Jehovah's Witnesses or their legal entity being recognized as extremist in any country. On the contrary, I know that in many countries Jehovah's Witnesses are respected. They have a good reputation because they provide assistance to those affected by natural disasters, participate in citywide cleanups, and keep the city clean. And just by their lifestyle and behavior, they positively influence society, their relatives, work colleagues, classmates, and those around them. But for some reason, I and other Jehovah's Witnesses are labeled extremists.

Well, the last thing I wanted to draw attention to is that freedom of religion is a fundamental human right. Believing in God is an innate need of each of us. It's just that someone comes to it later, and someone, maybe because of the influence of society, drowns out this need. But sooner or later, many of us have questions: why am I here at all? What is the meaning of life? what awaits us in the future? how to find happiness in life? What will happen after death? Sooner or later we all ask ourselves these questions, and someone is looking, and someone has stopped looking because they cannot find the answer to any of these questions. But here I am practicing my religion, studying the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses, and I have found the answers to these questions. My life has become more meaningful, and now, for satisfying my spiritual needs, I am facing long—term imprisonment - 6 years and 4 months have been requested. For what? For satisfying my [spiritual] need.

Your Honor, and now I want to address you. I ask you, please, to use your experience, your insight, your abilities. Please use your conscience, mercy, and compassion for us. And I ask you to acquit me and return all my confiscated property. Thanks

Summary of the case

Region:

Irkutsk region

Locality:

Irkutsk

What is suspected of:

Being "adherents of the religious association "The Management Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia", they organized collective religious services consisting of consistently performed songs and prayers to Jehovah God, the study of articles" (from the decree on bringing as an accused)

Criminal case number:

12102250040000051

Initiated:

October 4, 2021

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

The number of the case in court:

1-6/2024 (1-105/2023; 1-857/2022)

Court of first instance:

Oktyabrsky District Court of Irkutsk

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Andrey Slavinsky