The last word of the defendant Elena Mikhailova in Shuya

 RUSSIA 

 

The last word of the defendant Elena Mikhailova in Shuya

January 24, 2024

Ivanovo region

"Everything that is written in the indictment is speculation and rumors, on which the verdict of the court cannot be based," the believer said. "I would assess the accusation of extremism against me as an attempt by the prosecution, contrary to facts and common sense, to wishful thinking."

Transcript of the court session in the Shuisky city Court of the Ivanovo region dated 01/24/2024 in the case 1-1/2024 (1-2/2023; 1-138/2022) on the charges of Mikhailova Elena Valentinovna and others. of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2, Part 1 of Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Mikhailova Elena Valentinovna:

Dear Court, For the past 6 years, I have been hearing this question from people who learn about the criminal prosecution of our family: how could this even happen to you if freedom of religion is guaranteed by law? So far, this question has baffled me. Because I don't understand, Your Honor, where I broke the law. The very idea that I would be judged for believing in God never crossed my mind.

I am 40 years old, and during this time I have never violated the law, I have not caused any harm to anyone — not to others, not to government officials, and even more so to the state. I am just a believer: I read the Bible, pray to God, and gladly tell those who are interested in this from me about the Bible truths. This is my worship of God, an expression of my personal faith in him. This is vitally important to me. That's exactly why, no matter what anyone says, they judge me and want to recognize me as an extremist!

I am sure that I am now in the dock not because I committed some evil or crime, as the prosecution claims, but because I profess the "wrong" religion, because I am a Jehovah's Witness. But law enforcement officials saw this as a crime: allegedly, I worship God under the leadership of the "Management Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia." However, such an assumption does not correspond to either the facts or the materials of the criminal case. I don't need any religious organization (legal entity) to express my faith in God.

Moreover, I am disgusted by extremism itself, its manifestations, including incitement to religious hatred or discord. I am against it, but for some reason I am accused of it. What connection exists between me as a law-abiding citizen and extremism, I have not understood. And on the part of the prosecution, not a single fact has been presented (I emphasize) confirming that I committed any extremist crimes. All that we saw at the court sessions were peaceful meetings of believing friends, where the example left by Jesus Christ was discussed in showing patience, kindness, respect, love and compassion, and in relation to people of any faith, nationality or social status.

All the prosecution witnesses — neighbors, work colleagues, relatives, and other citizens — spoke exceptionally well of the defendants: that they are peaceful, law-abiding, decent people. The same is said by our characteristics and certificates from our places of work. Even if there were some disagreements and misunderstandings between believers in the recordings of telephone conversations, such situations were resolved by them without swearing and scandals. Neither in the court session, nor in any recordings made during the OPM "Observation", on the part of the defendants (or other believers) there was not a single swear word either against the state or against government representatives, nor against believers of other faiths, nor against representatives of a particular religion, nor against anyone- or at all. I will note: at the same time, the defendants did not even suspect that these conversations were being tapped, recorded and would be used against them in court.

Since the court hearings in this case last more than a year and a half, I think you, Your Honor, have an objective and unbiased idea of what kind of people we are. Do we really deserve to be labeled criminals, denigrating our good name and reputation? How many years do we have to work hard to pay the huge fine that the state prosecutor proposed to collect from our law-abiding family?

Everything that is written in the indictment is speculation, speculation and rumors, on which the verdict of the court cannot be based. I would assess the accusation of an extremist crime against me as an attempt by the prosecution, contrary to facts and common sense, to wishful thinking.

Dear court, during the preliminary investigation, investigator Ryazantsev, threatening me with criminal prosecution, said at one of the interrogations: "Well, should you cooperate, admit your guilt, tell us about your other co-believers? And everything will be fine for you: today I will release your husband from jail, and you will escape punishment." Then he asked me: "And what should I do in front of others?" and he himself replied: "Well, then repent before God, he will forgive you. And your friends will accept you eventually, and everything will be the same for you."

From such words of the investigator, everything seems simpler than simple: go to deception, a reservation, a deal with your conscience and faith, and "save your skin" and avoid punishment for what you did not commit. And the fact that this is unfair and unfair to my family, my friends, my conscience and my faith, the investigator does not care, because the authorities demand the result.

As during that interrogation, so now I declare: I will not renounce my faith in God and my friendship with him. I will not betray him!

Answering a question from one of the religious leaders of his time, Jesus Christ said: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind: this is the first and greatest commandment" (The Bible, the Gospel of Matthew 22:37, 38). Of course, nowadays loyalty is an old—fashioned concept. People betray their loved ones, their conscience, their beliefs, their faith. I believe that loyalty is a very valuable quality, and it is tested when difficulties arise in a person's life. For example, it is easy to remain faithful in marriage when the spouses are young, attractive and full of energy. But when other times come, when the marriage partner is seriously ill and requires constant care, that's when real devotion manifests itself. In my heart, Your Honor, I have made the decision to remain devoted to God, whose name, according to the Bible, is Jehovah. And this loyalty of mine does not depend on criminal prosecution or other circumstances.

Your Honor, during the court sessions, you repeatedly asked the defendants the question: what was the need to discuss precautionary measures if you are law-abiding citizens? My answer is this: according to the Bible, I quote, "all who wish to live in devotion to God in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12). Such persecution can manifest itself in religious discrimination and persecution for faith. In this case, the servants of God may face pressure, criminal prosecution, threat to their own well-being, loss of property, health or even life, and other difficulties.

One of the historical examples is the Christians of the 1st century A.D. who were faithful to God. They did not hate non—Christians and did not rebel against state power. However, they were persecuted. But why? Because many people, including those in power, willingly believed the evil slander about Christians. According to reports from the Bible (the book of Acts of the Apostles), they gathered a crowd and raised a fuss in the city, trying to convince the rulers that the accusations against Christians were fair. According to them, Christians "rioted", "rebelled against Caesar's law and said that there was another king, Jesus" (Acts 17:5-7).

It is noteworthy that the same accusations were made against Jesus Christ himself. His opponents were shouting: "This man calls the people to revolt ... and calls himself Christ, the King," "He sows confusion in the minds of people, forbids paying taxes to Caesar" (Gospel of Luke 23:2). Of course, the accusation that Jesus forbade paying taxes, as well as other accusations, was false. In fact, Jesus Christ taught the exact opposite. For example, when he was asked a provocative question: "Tell us, do you think it's right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" he replied: "Show me the coin you pay taxes with... whose image is on it and whose name is on it?.. So give what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God" (Matthew 22:15-22). In other words, Jesus showed due respect for the state authorities and their legitimate demands, he did not incite rebellion against them.

Even when the people wanted to make him king, he refused to become one. The Bible says: "When people saw the miracles performed by Jesus, they began to say: this man is truly a Prophet who must come into the world. Jesus realized that they were going to make him king, and he went back to the mountain alone" (John 6:14, 15).

Later, when the Roman governor Pontius Pilate considered all these accusations against Jesus Christ, he repeated several times to the crowd: "I find no fault in him" (John 18:38, 19:6). Other rulers came to the same conclusion when they considered accusations against Christians of alleged political crimes committed by them. Thus, the rulers Agrippa and Porcius Festus, when considering the case of the Apostle Paul, said: "This man has done nothing deserving of death or imprisonment. He could have been released if he had not demanded judgment from Caesar" (Acts 26:31, 32). It was clear to these rulers that the Apostle Paul was not guilty of any political crimes or extremism and that in fact his accusers were talking only about matters concerning the religion of the Apostle Paul, nothing more (Acts 25:19).

If we talk about modern Christians, for example, Jehovah's Witnesses in the Soviet Union, then, like the early Christians, they were also falsely accused of subversive activities against the state. They were tried only because they had a Bible, which the authorities recognized as "anti-Soviet". And on April 1, 1951, a total deportation of believers was carried out under the code name "Operation North". In two nights, about 10,000 people, including the elderly and children, were loaded into freight wagons and transported in inhuman conditions from the western regions of the country to the north, to Siberia, without the right to return. For believing in God, which did not fit into the framework of Soviet ideology, they were deprived of everything: houses, property, and some even their lives. But none of them hated their persecutors. They remained law-abiding citizens to the end and posed no threat to the Soviet government. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Jehovah's Witnesses were rehabilitated as innocent victims of repression, and the state restored their good name by removing the stigma of "enemies of the people" from them. Each of them was handed an official document — a certificate of rehabilitation.

Dear Court, studying the history of early Christians, as well as the modern history of Jehovah's Witnesses, I cannot but take into account that all these facts of persecution for the faith took place. I understand that I may also face similar persecution. Therefore, returning to your question, Your Honor, about what was the need to discuss precautionary measures if we are law-abiding citizens, I will say: knowledge of the laws, reasonable precautions and prudence make it possible to avoid unjustified and illegal persecution for faith. I don't want to intentionally put myself in danger and I'm not looking for trouble myself.

Perhaps someone will have a question: isn't the choice of those who maintained their devotion to God at the cost of freedom, and sometimes even at the cost of their lives, fanatical? In my opinion, no. Such people saw and appreciated the good that God had done for them. And this encouraged them to do something in response.

I will say about myself: thanks to God and his Word, the Bible, my life has become meaningful. I have received convincing answers to many important questions: How did life come about? What is its meaning? Why is there so much hatred and suffering in the world? How will it end, if we talk about the future of our planet and humanity? What should I do to make my family friendly and happy? And many others.

Or if we talk about life itself, then how much love God has put into this gift! Twenty-four hours a day, our heart pumps precious blood through our body. We fall asleep, and our lungs continue to expand and contract. We eat, and the food is automatically digested. All this happens every day, without any conscious effort on our part. These mysterious and amazing processes, which seem ordinary to some, testify to the love of God. All this and much more encourages me to be grateful to God for all that he has done for me and my family, and to express my faith.

I am also grateful to God that the present criminal case was considered in court under your chairmanship, Anton Alexandrovich. Why? You showed patience and respect for each of us, listened, and did not rush to answer. When one of us was ill, you rescheduled court sessions, and before the start of the sessions you were always interested in our health. It was obvious that Your Honor was trying to get to the bottom of the matter and get to the truth, although for you, as I understand it, this is probably an unusual criminal case.

Thanks also to your assistant, the secretary, that she also showed us respect and kindness.

I would like to express my gratitude to the state prosecutor, Alexey Nikolaevich, and his assistants for your respectful attitude towards the defendants and for trying to pronounce the name of God, Jehovah, correctly, because for us, believers, this is very important. Your smile created a calm and kind atmosphere at the meetings.

Thanks to the entire team of lawyers. Yes, we felt that we were all united. You did not separate who was whose client, but provided legal assistance to everyone who needed it.

I can't help but mention the bailiffs as well. Thank you for your special work! Please tell the others who attended this meeting that your kindness and respect helped us maintain our self-esteem.

I am also grateful to God for a wonderful gift — my dear spouse, my faithful and close friend. Difficulties have not weakened our love, but only strengthened it.

God also gave me so many friends! There are even more of them in difficulties and troubles. Thank you for your prayers, for coming to court sessions, sometimes even taking time off from work, coming from other cities. Through you, God strengthened me, gave me the strength not to give up, and assured me of his love.

I am also grateful to God for revealing through the Bible what the future will bring us. God has "set a day on which He intends to judge the inhabited earth justly" (Acts 17:31). The next Day of Judgment will be a joyful time — then Jehovah, the Judge of the whole earth, will deliver all mankind from injustice. As the Bible says, God "will judge the earth justly, will be a faithful judge for the nations" (Psalm 96:13). What a wonderful time it will be! How comforting it is to know that the future of the earth is in the safe hands of our Creator!

This unusual trial is coming to an end. People are judged for their faith in God. It seems that in our 21st century, this is simply impossible. But, unfortunately, this is a fact. And you, Your Honor, will have to put an end to this matter. I really hope that you will be able to correct the monstrous mistake made by the preliminary investigation authorities and the prosecutor's office, and restore justice. I would like to believe that the Constitution is not an empty formality, that every citizen in our country is guaranteed freedom of religion, which means that worshipping the Creator of the Universe, Jehovah God, is not considered a crime.

The ancient thinker Cicero said: "The power of the judge's conscience is great."

Thanks!

Summary of the case

Region:

Ivanovo region

Locality:

Shuya

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, he participated in divine services, which is interpreted as participation and financing of the activities of an "extremist organization" (with reference to the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the liquidation of all 396 registered organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses)

Criminal case number:

11802240009000024

Initiated:

April 19, 2018

The current stage of the case:

Appeal

Is being investigated by:

The SU IC of the Russian Federation for the Ivanovo region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

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

The number of the case in court:

1-1/2024 (1-2/2023; 1-138/2022)

Court:

Shuisky City Court of the Ivanovo region

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Anton Mokin