The last word of the defendant Elena Yurenkova in Tolyatti

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Elena Yurenkova in Tolyatti

March 22, 2024

Samara region

Speaking before the court, Elena noted: "When faced with unfair treatment, [Jehovah's Witnesses] act in accordance with the biblical call: "Do not repay evil for evil to anyone." By their deeds, they prove the falsity of the accusations against them."

Transcript of the court session in the Central District Court of Tolyatti dated 03/22/2024 in the case 1-44/2024 (1-524/2023) on charges of Elena Viktorovna Yurenkova of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Yurenkova Elena Viktorovna:

Dear Court, I would like to thank all the participants in the process who, together with me, went through this difficult path to protect religious freedom. We can safely say that we are pioneers in our city, so it was not easy for all of us.

I thank the esteemed judge Anastasia Petrovna. You set an example to all participants in the process in how to speak respectfully to others, appreciate their sense of dignity, and be organized. I am impressed by people who solve cases on time, without fuss. Thank you for being patient with me, giving me enough time between meetings, and prompting me on the subtleties of filing and processing documents.

Special thanks to your assistant secretaries, who worked scrupulously and efficiently on the minutes of court sessions.

I am very grateful to lawyer Tatyana Viktorovna, who has been in touch with me since the day of my "wanderings" and has been kind to me in a human way, unbiased, helped me competently build a defense, compose questions and petitions, participate in the interrogation of witnesses. I am grateful for her honesty and integrity, because through this I learned to defend my position and approach the matter creatively.

On behalf of myself and my friends, I especially thank the guards, because with her we felt safe and stable during the court sessions.

Of course, I would like to express my gratitude from the bottom of my heart to my "rear": my spouse, friends and family. Trials by themselves do not make a person better, but they reveal what we are like inside. They showed me once again that my husband is a worthy head of the family, and I intend to continue to appreciate and respect him as my husband. I was very pleased to see that during this time Yura became even more sensitive and shared all my troubles with me.

I cannot express in words how much love, attention, comfort, and various kinds of help our friends in faith have provided to me and my family. From the day of the search until now, they have been with me. I had a warm relationship with friends before, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our illnesses, personal difficulties, and family responsibilities, unfortunately, we became a little distant from each other. But now I can clearly see how Jehovah uses each of us to figuratively "sharpen" each other (Proverbs 27:17). I hope I will still have the opportunity to personally thank them and return my debt of love to them.

And of course, our heavenly Father Jehovah has become especially close to me.

Dear Court, many of us still remember from the school curriculum about the tragedy that began in 1958 in China. The Chinese government has decided that all sparrows in the country should be killed. They believed that the birds ate too much grain in the fields, bringing a great loss to the national economy. Chinese citizens were full of enthusiasm in the fight against "pests". The extermination of birds was quite effective and some people were even amused by it. By the end of 1958, the sparrows in the country were finished. Now a record harvest was to be expected. Indeed, there was a slight increase in grain yields, but at the same time an invasion of field insect pests began. The Chinese were at a loss: right before their eyes, the new crop was almost completely disappearing. Locusts and caterpillars destroyed everything in a row — wheat, rice, barley, peanuts, tea, cotton and soybeans. Insects began to multiply uncontrollably and rapidly, soon flooding all agricultural territories. After the destruction of the harvest, locusts and caterpillars began to take over the forests, and there was a general famine. The country has begun to collapse. Too late, the peasants realized that sparrows were actually their allies in the fight against harmful insects.  According to conservative estimates, about 30 million people died of hunger.

To remedy the situation, the Chinese had to urgently restore the sparrow population, they were even imported from the USSR and Canada. The birds were delivered to China in whole wagons. The sparrows were pardoned and officially named useful. Since then, birds have been treated with special reverence in China — they are loved and protected in every possible way. This page in the long-suffering history of mankind has once again shown the whole world that it is impossible to interfere with the natural cycles established by our loving Creator. And she also showed how the decisions of individuals and entire nations can be short-sighted.

What is happening in Russia today is very reminiscent of the "Great Chinese Sparrow War." But the Russian government has declared war not on birds, but on its citizens who peacefully profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. The most harmless people were labeled "extremists", and their criminal prosecution began across the country. Fighting Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as sparrows, is not difficult at all and is much easier than with real criminals, because the Witnesses do not offer any resistance. Being peaceful people, they do not take up arms, do not resort to threats and violence, as any form of cruelty is alien to them. When faced with unfair treatment, these people act in accordance with the biblical call: "Do not repay evil for evil to anyone, if possible on your part, be at peace with all people. Don't avenge yourself, but give way to anger God's will. So, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:17-21).

By adhering to the high moral principles of the Bible, teaching them to others and helping many people to leave their criminal deeds, Jehovah's Witnesses bring great benefits to the whole society. Thanks to the Bible training, many people stopped drinking, taking drugs, engaging in debauchery and following the irresistible urge to play for money. These people, who have started a new life, have learned to honestly provide for their family and approach it responsibly (1 Timothy 5:8). This way there are fewer drug addicts and fewer cases of domestic violence. As a result, the burden placed on social services is eased. Jehovah's Witnesses who have children are happy to cooperate with teachers and help their children study well so that they can later earn a living and not become a burden to society. By their deeds, Jehovah's Witnesses prove the falsity of the accusations against them that they destroy families and are useless to society. I can say about myself that thanks to my Bible studies, I gained meaning in life, confidence in the future, and learned to treat people with great understanding.

As law-abiding citizens, Jehovah's Witnesses respect government members, officials, judges, and city authorities by "saluting them" (Romans 13:7). Although they do not participate in politics, they respect the position of Governments in the countries in which they live. They also respect the right of others to make their own decisions in political matters. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses do not interfere with the conduct of elections and those who have decided to vote. This is in accordance with the biblical commandment: "Let every soul submit to higher authorities" (Romans 13:1). Jehovah's Witnesses believe that people of all races are equal in the eyes of God (Acts 10:34, 35). Through Bible study, they help people overcome even deep-rooted prejudices.

What do the facts say? Judge for yourself. For example, during the Nazi era, Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany and other countries refused to support Hitler's hate-soaked policies. Hundreds paid for it with their lives. During the Holocaust, approximately 35,000 Jehovah's Witnesses lived in Germany and in Nazi-occupied territories. About 1,500 of them died. About 400 were executed Jehovah's Witnesses. Most of them were sentenced to death by a court decision and executed by guillotine. Others were shot and hanged without trial. Most of Jehovah's Witnesses died in the concentration camps of Buchenwald, Dachau, Sachsenhausen, Mauthausen, Niederhagen, Neuengamme, Auschwitz, Ravensbruck and Flossenburg.

What is behind these numbers? Here's just one story. Gerhard began studying the Bible in his youth. At the age of 17, he decided to become a Jehovah's Witness. On September 15, 1939, he was arrested because, guided by his beliefs, he refused to serve in the military and swear allegiance to Hitler. Gerhard spent six weeks in a Vienna prison, after which he was transferred to Berlin, to the Moabit prison, where he was detained pending trial.

On November 11, 1939, on the first day of the trial, Gerhard was accused of subversion and sentenced to death. Since his refusal to join the army was related to religious beliefs, he applied for clemency. On March 2, 1940, the Reich military court approved the death sentence. Four weeks later, on March 30, Gerhard Steinaker was executed by guillotine in the infamous Plezensee prison. He was only 19 years old.

Just a few hours before his execution, Gerhard Steinaker wrote a farewell letter to his parents:

"Dear Mom and Dad! Well, there's no point in talking too much. Two hours ago, at seven in the evening, I was told that tomorrow at 05:50 I would be executed. So this moment has come. Lord, give me strength! Yes, the spirit is awake, but the flesh is weak. I'm sitting here in my cell, it's about one o'clock in the morning. There are two other men with me. Time flies so fast. I am writing to you in fits and starts everything that comes to mind. It's cold outside, it's snowing again. May the Lord give you strength. I want to work, and I promised both verbally and in writing that I would work hard and be completely satisfied with it. But I just can't shoot, that's what it's all about. Now the will of the Lord is being fulfilled: No matter what happens, I can't stop. Be firm, don't let it weaken you, hold on to each other tighter, take heart. I'm just a kid. I will be able to stand up only if the Lord gives me strength, and I ask him for that. I received your last letter dated March 25th. 25th, last greetings from you. It's about three-thirty in the morning. I never thought that everything would happen so quickly. [Three lines have been crossed out by Nazi censorship.] ...unexpectedly and you never know what will happen in the next minute. They will give you my things—writing materials, papers and letters, money and clothes, a key and something else. Please give my heartfelt greetings to Grandma and Grandpa, Resi, Uncle, Aunt, Grandma and Grandpa, Mr. and Mrs. Hawk. To everyone I've worked with, to everyone who knows me, and to all my family. Dad, take heart, don't give up, don't let yourself be broken, be firm in faith and in everything else. And you, Mom, be firm and firm. Support each other. Ask the Lord to protect you, give you strength and hope, and guide everything so that you stay on the right path and that nothing happens to you. I will also ask him for you. The closer this hour gets, the more you realize how weak we are. Up to this point, I had the opportunity to change my mind. I want to work, but I just can't shoot. Now I'm finishing up. I kiss and hug you, dear dad and mom, 100,000 times. Your beloved Gerhard, who is so eager to be with you. See you in the Kingdom, where the four of us will come together again. Cheer up! A million kisses."

75 years later, in 2015, in one of the districts of Vienna, an opening ceremony was held for a memorial plaque to a Jehovah's Witness named Gerhard Steinaker, who was executed by the Nazis for refusing to join the German army.

Today, in Western Europe and other parts of the world, numerous exhibitions and memorial plaques are dedicated to former prisoners of the notorious concentration camps, including Jehovah's Witnesses, and even city streets are named after them. It is clear that people have learned from the mistakes of the past and do not want to repeat it. Well-known politicians, historians, journalists and hundreds of other people give interviews in defense of innocent victims of repression. Let me read out some quotes:

"I am glad that this stove has appeared in our city. Each of us has a responsibility to prevent such persecution from happening again" (Mayor of Trieste, Roberto Dipiazza).

"For a long time, the very fact of persecution of religious groups under the Nazi and Fascist regimes was denied. A memorial plaque in such an important place from a historical point of view will remind us of thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses — courageous people who remained true to their beliefs and noble Christian principles in order to live in peace. [...] The surviving Jehovah's Witnesses were able to heal their spiritual wounds thanks to their peacefulness and absolute confidence that one day a "new day" will come when grief will come to an end and no one will ask: "Why so much suffering?"" (Giuseppina Celloni, psychologist and psychotherapist).

"They are not just religious martyrs. Today, as then, the Witnesses represent the triumph of nonviolence and peace. These people are an example of humanism and the embodiment of hope for future generations" (Anna Maria Fiorillo, Deputy Prosecutor at the Milan Juvenile Court).

Similarly, Witnesses were not encouraged to participate in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. On the contrary, they risked their lives to protect those who were persecuted and killed.

Does our position of neutrality pose a threat to national security? Here's what one report said about our position of neutrality: "Today, some may not like this position of Jehovah's Witnesses; it was the main reason for the persecution of them ... in the past." But even during the time of religious repression in the Soviet Union, Witnesses remained law-abiding citizens. They worked honestly and selflessly on collective farms and industrial enterprises and posed no threat to the Soviet government." The report concluded that the beliefs and actions of Jehovah's Witnesses today in no way "undermine the security or threaten the integrity of any state."

And how are Jehovah's Witnesses living in Russia today? On April 1, 2021, a press conference dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the exile of Jehovah's Witnesses to Siberia was held in Moscow. A few days later, on April 6, the international Memorial Society organized a round table, which was attended by Russian scientists and human rights activists. It discussed not only the 1951 expulsion of Jehovah's Witnesses, dubbed Operation North, but also the long history of persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Of Russia.

Operation North was initiated by the Ministry of State Security (MGB) the USSR. In a memo from the MGB, which lay on Joseph Stalin's desk in early 1951, it said: "In order to prevent further anti-Soviet actions of the Jehovah's underground, the MGB of the USSR considers it necessary, along with the arrest of the leading members of the Jehovah's sect, to evict the identified Jehovah's Witnesses from Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia with their families in Irkutsk and Tomsk oblasts [asti]". In total, more than 3,000 families were expelled, that is, about 10,000 people. This is the largest deportation in the history of the Soviet Union on the basis of religious affiliation.

"The persecution of this confessional group is still taking place today, which makes today's review of the history of Operation North especially relevant in our reality," said Alexander Guryanov, the moderator of the round table, in his opening speech.

Valery Borshchev, a human rights activist and co-chairman of the Moscow Helsinki Group, spoke about how the Soviet authorities tried to "re-educate" Jehovah's Witnesses through propaganda and other methods. "The commissioners [for religious affairs] themselves understood that all this was useless and did not work," the human rights activist said. He also stressed: "Jehovah's Witnesses, to give them their due, were firm and did not move away."

Yaroslav Sivulsky, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, shared his parents' memories of the difficulties of believers' lives in Siberian special settlements. Some families found themselves in a remote, deserted taiga. They had to make dugouts in which they lived for several months before they could build something more suitable for life. Nettles and tree bark often served them as food. Many died of starvation or disease.

Sivulsky noted that in present-day Russia, Jehovah's Witnesses are persecuted for the same reasons as in 1951. He stressed that their apolitical nature is sometimes mistakenly interpreted as non-recognition of state power. According to him, the authorities overlook the fact that the Witnesses are known for their respectful attitude to the state, law-abiding and conscientious work.

In his closing remarks, Alexander Guryanov again turned to the events of our days in Of Russia: "There is some special bitterness on the part of the state authorities towards this particular denomination." Once again, it was said that 70 years later, history repeats itself — law-abiding citizens of the country are again declared criminals only because they exercise their constitutional right to freedom of religion.

In the Soviet Union, thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses were indiscriminately called enemies of the people. They were sent into exile, labor camps and imprisoned. After the collapse of the USSR, Jehovah's Witnesses were rehabilitated. The new government has restored their good name. Now, some want to denigrate Jehovah's Witnesses again. The last of the prisoners were released in 1990. Thousands of Witnesses were happy: they were rehabilitated, removing the stigma of "enemies of the people." Each of them was presented with an official document — a certificate of rehabilitation.

Dear Court, Court sessions related to the protection of religious freedom are taking place right before our eyes in the city of Tolyatti. Now it is my turn to give an account to the "higher authorities", to the people and to my God. It is a great honor for me to be a Jehovah's Witness. Jesus Christ himself is called "a faithful and true witness" (Revelation 3:14). Of course, I consider myself innocent and I want to be acquitted. But I also understand that this is not the main thing. Then what is it? As God's word has taught me, to do the will of Jehovah God, the Ruler of the universe.

We live in a unique time, the main events of which were predicted by Jesus Christ back in the 1st century AD, that there would be world wars, famines, earthquakes, natural disasters, epidemics, and an increase in lawlessness. And against this background, Jesus Christ highlighted the good news: "This good news of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). Many people think that this verse is about the end of the world, but would this news be good then? Before the end comes, according to Jesus Christ, the good news, that is, the glad tidings of the Kingdom, will be proclaimed. This is the Kingdom that millions of people around the world have been asking for for 2,000 years in the prayer "Our Father": "Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).

According to the Bible, the Kingdom of God is a heavenly government headed by a King, Jesus Christ, who is appointed by Jehovah himself, who has the highest authority. What will the Kingdom do for its subjects? The answer is given by the miracles that Jesus performed while living on earth. By calming the storm, Jesus showed that he would command the forces of nature and solve all environmental problems (Mark 4:36-41). Jesus miraculously fed thousands of people. This suggests that the kingdom of God will eliminate hunger throughout the world (Matthew 14:17-21). By healing the sick, the lame, the deaf, and the blind, Jesus showed that everyone would have perfect health (Luke 18:35-43). He also raised the dead, which means that as the reigning King, Jesus will even overcome death (Luke 8:40-56).

What has time shown? Over the past millennia, people have tried all kinds of forms of government, including autocracy, democracy, socialism and communism. The consequences of such a government are vividly described in the Bible: "I know, Lord, that it is not in the will of man his way, that it is not in the power of him who goes to give direction to his footsteps" (Jeremiah 10:23).

Soon, King Jesus Christ will take power into his own hands. And then imagine that you are in paradise. Every morning you wake up refreshed and ready to do interesting things. You don't have any pain. All the infirmities are in the past. You have excellent eyesight, hearing, sense of smell, touch and taste. You are full of energy, and work gives you joy. People who really love each other will live there. There will be no more crime, wars, disease, suffering and death. You have a lot of friends and no worries. Under the loving rule of Jesus, the earth will become a beautiful paradise. Very soon all these blessings will come true.

In the widely known Sermon on the Mount, Jesus listed the important components of happiness, including. "You are happy when people insult and persecute you and falsely say all the bad things about you because of me," Jesus said. He explained: "Rejoice and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven, because the prophets who were before you were persecuted in the same way" (Matthew 5:11, 12).

When Jesus sent the apostles and all his disciples to the people, he wanted to encourage them and help them overcome their fear of opposition: "So do not be afraid of them... Are not two small birds being sold for an assarium? And none of them will fall to the ground without will But your father's hair is all numbered on your head; do not be afraid: you are better than many small birds. Therefore, whoever confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before my heavenly Father" (Matthew 10:29-32).

He drew their attention to the most common bird, the sparrow. If Jehovah values even sparrows because they are living beings, then how dear is man to him! As Jesus explained, Jehovah knows everything about us down to the smallest detail — even the hairs on our head are counted! Jesus Christ knew that he was going to die not for birds, but for people.

Today, Jehovah's Witnesses also do not lose joy when they are persecuted for the name of Jesus. For me, as for the servants of antiquity, suffering in itself is not a reason for joy. But if I remain faithful to God during the trials, He will help me stand up and get approval. This is my hope, the foundation of my faith, for which I am being judged today.

Thank you, dear court.

Summary of the case

Region:

Samara region

Locality:

Tolyatti

What is suspected of:

"I took active action by taking an active part in the activities of the organization by participating in collective meetings where ideology was discussed a religious organization" (from the Decision on bringing in as an accused).

Criminal case number:

12302360032000241

Case initiated:

May 15, 2023

The current stage of the case: 

Appeal

Is being investigated

by the SU IC of the Russian Federation for the Samara region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2)

Case number in court:

1-44/2024 (1-524/2023)

Court of First Instance:

The Central District Court of Tolyatti

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Anastasia Fedorova