The last word of the defendant Viktor Revyakin in Magadan

 RUSSIA 

 

The last word of the defendant Viktor Revyakin in Magadan

February 12, 2024

Magadan region

In his speech, the believer stated: "The term "extremism" and this very concept is not only not to my heart, but even repugnant in its essence. It does not lead to peace and harmony not only between people, but also with God... It is God who makes me a peacemaker and a good citizen, not a criminal."

Transcript of the court session in the Magadan City Court of the Magadan region dated 02/12/2024 in case 1-6/2024 on charges of Revyakin Viktor Anatolyevich and others of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Revyakin Victor Anatolyevich:

Your Honor! Speaking with the last word, I just want to remind you that what you are facing now is not a hardened criminal who has nothing to lose, not a molester of young souls and not a businessman who fleeces people, but a believer who does not plead guilty.

Yes, I, Victor Revyakin, do not consider myself guilty in those cases that the prosecution and those who decided to support it intentionally attribute to me: 1) crimes against the state; 2) extremism; 3) the implementation of joint criminal intent; 4) involvement in the activities of a prohibited religious organization.

I must say right away that the prosecution did not provide a clear picture of my criminal actions that would undermine the Russian state system. The prosecutor also did not indicate the motives of my possible actions. Obviously, they simply could not be found in the nature of the investigation. The following fact is also noteworthy: speaking about my alleged crime against the foundations and unity of our state, I want to note that the thoughts where I am exposed as a state charge involved in violating the law do not stand up to any criticism.

But if we remember right now about Jehovah, about the God I follow and worship, it is God who makes me a peacemaker and a good citizen, not a criminal.

Knowing well that my God is a "jealous God" (a biblical comparison), I would not, while worshipping Jehovah, also focus my gaze on such a phenomenon as extremism, because I love Jehovah sincerely, and not half-heartedly.

In this sense, the term "extremism" and this concept itself are not only not to my heart, but even repugnant in their essence. It does not lead to peace and harmony not only between people, but also with God. Your Honor! I would like to emphasize that both my parents and the state, while engaged in my education, and even more so Jehovah God, never raised me in the spirit of extremism. Where would he come from?

And what is meant by joint criminal intent? And how does criminal intent affect me personally? These questions still remain unanswered, and this is not surprising. Because, as I noted earlier, I was not involved either directly or indirectly in the implementation of criminal joint intent, as it sounded in court.

[…]

It was in the field of information from the indictment that such terms as defendant, suspect, defendant arose. These labels are hard enough to bind any person. But no matter what the investigative and judicial system calls me, I still, Your Honor, have not received an answer from it to this question: why am I, a calm, non-confrontational, peaceful person, being tried today under a criminal article as a malicious criminal?

Your Honor! The following fact is also noteworthy: speaking about my alleged crime against our state, as well as about the implementation of a joint criminal intent, I note that no traces, no evidence, no victims, no corpus delicti were found. And again, the prosecution has not said anything about the motives of my actions and everything related to it. They just don't exist.

When testifying in court, I emphasized on the basis of the Bible that I tried very hard to get away from evil deeds. But that's not all. As a Christian, I needed to surround myself only with good deeds (1 Peter 2:12, 15), which not only speak about my faith, but also please Jehovah. These verses say that it is God's will that we not cover up evil deeds that dishonor God, but behave wisely by showing our good deeds.

One more fact. During the search of my apartment, nothing extremist was found! However, my wife's notebook, which contained a daily calculation of her physiological processes, attracted the attention of operatives and was seized. How could these sheets shed light on the illegal nature of my actions? Or how did they feel about the Leadership Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia? Nothing else was seized.

One more thing. There is information in the case file that is a distortion of reality and shows how facts are distorted in order to discredit my honest name and fabricate cases against honest citizens of our country, as was done in 1937.

[…]

Meetings and congresses are a form of worship accepted in the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Such events were held in Russia a hundred years ago. For me, attending such meetings meant only one thing— a joint confession of my faith.

With the help of the Bible at meetings and congresses, I learned to love people, to get rid of envy, anger and hatred. And this is primarily the merit of God. My goal while attending divine services in the homes of my co-religionists was to glorify God and to want to learn from him and from Jesus Christ.

As for me, by choosing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, I found answers to many of my questions. I learned what the meaning of life is, what happens when we die, why we get sick, grow old and eventually die. I learned what Jehovah God and his son Jesus Christ have already done for me. I found practical tips on how to create family happiness, find joy in work and build relationships with people around you.

Note that all these years I have been legally exercising the constitutional right to freely have and disseminate the religious beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses. I also used the right to profess my religion individually when I read the Bible in private, prayed to Jehovah, or when I talked to someone about my faith in God; and I also used my right to profess religion together with others when I worshipped God together with believers during religious meetings.

But the question arises: after 2017, should I have stopped being a Jehovah's Witness? The answer is obvious: no. Because the court did not forbid me to believe and worship Jehovah God in the way that I learned from the Bible. So, just as I believed in God before the court decision, so after it I had the right to believe in him and worship him.

In view of all the above, it is obvious that I did not commit any crime, nor did my brothers and sisters. Therefore, I ask you, Your Honor, to fully acquit me and my friends.

Summary of the case

Region:

Magadan region

Locality:

Magadan

What is suspected of:

According to investigators, 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.