The last word of the defendant Alexander Chagan in Tolyatti

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Alexander Chagan in Tolyatti

February 29, 2024

Samara region

In his speech in court, the believer said that it was important for him to address God by name and tell others about this name, and that it was because of this that he ended up in the dock.

Transcript of the court session in the Central District Court of Tolyatti dated 02/29/2024 in the case 1-46/2024 on the charge of Alexander Vladimirovich Chagan of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Chagan Alexander Vladimirovich:

I want to start my last word with gratitude. I am grateful to the judge for her patience with me during the court sessions. During these meetings, I had to learn how to ask the right questions. I must admit that this is not so easy, so I am very grateful to the judge for her patience, as well as for the fact that she gave the opportunity to attend the meetings to those who worry about me.

I also want to thank my lawyer Anna Nikolaevna. She treated me with understanding, without prejudice. I am grateful to her for her practical advice, which helped me understand some of the details.

I am very grateful to my friends who, despite their busy schedule, came to support me. I am also grateful to my dear wife and daughter — they have always been by my side. And, of course, I am very grateful to my God, because without his support, my strength and patience would not have been enough for all this.

On March 9, 1934, an ordinary boy was born in the village of Klushino. This boy was not much different from other boys like him. He grew up in an ordinary working—class family: his father was a carpenter, his mother was a dairy farm worker. This boy studied at an ordinary school, at the age of 16 he entered a vocational school, which there were many in those days. But one day, on April 12, 1961, the name of Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin sounded all over the earth. The whole planet recognized this name, the streets were called by it. The whole country was proud of Gagarin. His beautiful smile has become a symbol of the era. The world recognized not just the cosmonaut pilot - the world recognized Yuri Gagarin.

A name is what makes someone famous. The name identifies the person. A name forms a reputation, and reputation is a certain quality. For example, Gagarin's name stands for such remarkable qualities as determination, perseverance, modesty, curiosity, politeness. Such qualities characterize and distinguish a person.  Strip a person of their name and we won't understand who they are talking about.

The name is what distinguishes us from others, one test pilot from another, one designer from another, the president from the president. Moreover, often ignorance of the name, not using it when applying, may indicate insufficient attention to the person. By our nature, we can often forget, in view of our daily worries, what a person's name is, and feel awkward. At the same time, mentioning a name during a conversation once again underlines our respect for a person. And if we forget the name, few of us will try to justify ourselves with the phrase "he has many names." Unfortunately, when talking about the name of God, you can often hear just such a phrase... Remember how more than once, having forgotten the name of a person, you asked someone what his name was. You don't want to end up in an awkward position by forgetting a person's name, and at the same time you want to pay attention to them. Similarly, God has a name by which he can be distinguished, recognized, and addressed in prayer.

And what can be seen from the materials of the investigation and examinations? If you use the name of God Jehovah in your life and religious practice, then you are guilty.

Are only those who profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses aware of this name? For example, the name of the God Jehovah in Russia in the XVI—XVIII centuries could be found in Orthodox churches on iconostases, frescoes, in monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the scrolls of the law of theological seminaries. It is noteworthy that God's name is on an engraving and on a glass cup from the time of Peter I. This cup is kept in one of the museums of the Moscow Kremlin. The medal of Catherine II with the name of the God Jehovah was issued in honor of the agreement between the Russian Empire, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. And this is only a small part of where you can find this name.

Also, many Russian writers knew and used the name of God Jehovah well. For example, it is found in such works as "From a Letter to Vigel" by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, "The Sinner" by Alexei Tolstoy, "Sabina" by Athanasius Fet, "Daniel" by Marina Tsvetaeva, "Gentlemen Golovlev" by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin.

Extremism is an extreme manifestation of hatred. Today, computer games with military themes are common, which are played mostly by children, immature minds. But for some reason such games are not considered as extremism, although it is through them that hatred can arise, a tendency to solve problems with force and cruelty. And the peaceful activities of believers, who primarily teach how to solve problems and conflicts peacefully, through dialogue, which society obviously needs, are considered extremism, and an attempt is being made to present this in an ominous way. You can justify it any way you want, give a lot of arguments, but the fact remains that peaceful relations are exposed as evil.

Any criminal punishment has a specific purpose — among other things, it is to stop the crime and teach something. What lesson should I learn from this? It follows from the case file that I am a participant in the liquidated legal entity, because I use the name of God Jehovah at religious meetings. So I need to stop using that name? How justified is this in its essence, proportionate from the point of view of punishment, legitimate from the point of view of the law?

I ask the court to take into account the above arguments and pass an acquittal against me.

Summary of the case

Region:

Samara region

Locality:

Tolyatti

Criminal case number:

12202360032000539

Case initiated:

September 14, 2022

The current stage of the case:

Appeal

Is being investigated by:

The Central Interdistrict Investigative Department of Togliatti SU IC of the Russian Federation for the Samara region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-46/2024 (1-527/2023)

Court of First Instance:

The Central District Court of Tolyatti

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Victoria Gorbasheva