The last word of the defendant Galina Pechko in Magadan

 RUSSIA 

 

The last word of the defendant Galina Pechko in Magadan

February 12, 2024

Magadan region

The 70-year-old believer declared that she lives a peaceful life and is not guilty of anything. "I have not heard any reasoned evidence of my "grave" crime. Tell me, please, which article of the Constitution of the Russian Federation says that being a Witness to God is a crime?" she asked.

Transcript of the court session in the Magadan City Court of the Magadan region dated 02/12/2024 in the case 1-6/2024 (1-12/2023; 1-220/2022) according to the accusation of Pechko Galina Alexandrovna and others. of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Pechko Galina Alexandrovna:

Your Honor! Dear participants of the process! I want to thank you for your friendly attitude towards us. Thank you, Your Honor, for your patience, for giving you the opportunity to speak out, without interrupting.

The reason I ended up being a defendant and am now standing here in front of you in court is because I am a Jehovah's Witness. If I hadn't been one, then no one would have remembered me in the FSB, where they opened a criminal case against me on charges of a serious crime. Yes, I consider myself a Christian, a Jehovah's Witness, and attended a Christian meeting of a religious group in the city of Magadan. But nowhere does it say that being a Jehovah's Witness is a crime. Yes, I consider myself a Christian, a Jehovah's Witness, and I have attended Christian worship services.

In this process, you have learned a lot about us: that we are the same people as those who walk down the street outside the windows of this building, and even the same as those who work in this building. We also work at the enterprises of the city, raise children, we have the same life concerns, we also sometimes get upset and rejoice, celebrate family holidays, give gifts to children and loved ones, communicate with friends, go to theaters and museums. We also have hobbies: someone goes fishing, someone likes to go to the forest to pick mushrooms, berries or prefers hiking - that is, we live the life of simple, peaceful and honest citizens of the Russian Federation, get along with our neighbors, do not wish anyone and do not cause harm. And we also worship Jehovah God, honor his Word, the Bible, and try to live according to God's laws.

Therefore, Your Honor, I assure you that we live in direct contrast to what my co—religionists and I are accused of, namely, extremist activities. But the evidence that we were engaged in such activities is simply not given in this court. I have not been provided with any specific case of me spreading extremist materials somewhere, once, inciting discord and hatred towards people of other nationalities or calling for the undermining of the constitutional order. There is no such evidence and there cannot be!

Well, is it possible to judge a person for loving God Jehovah, our heavenly Father, who gave life and supports it every day, which means he loves all people equally! It gives everyone rain, sunshine, air, water and warm seas, which we all love very much, and also created for us a beautiful nature, a variety of flowers, fruits, vegetables, wildlife and underwater world… There is simply no way to list all the creations of God on our beautiful earth! And how can you not love such a caring and loving Father, our God Jehovah?

But the greatest manifestation of God's love is that he gave his son Jesus Christ to die as a ransom so that people would have a wonderful future and real hope for a perfect life in heavenly conditions on Earth. The Bible says: "God loves the world so much that He gave his only begotten Son so that everyone who believes in Him would not perish, but would gain eternal life." And what kind of life will it be? People will become perfect... they will no longer get sick, grow old and die, and they will also meet their deceased loved ones.

Why do people wish each other happiness, health, long life and dream about it? Because it's in our genes, because we had to live this kind of life. If our ancestors had not sold us into slavery to sin and death, then people would still be perfect. Who would give up their child to buy other people's lives? You just need to think about it, and then it will become clear how great God's love for people is! To believe in these promises, one must read and study the Bible. It says: "God is not a man, he will not lie. He's not a mortal man—he won't change his mind. Will he say and not do, promise and not fulfill?" (Numbers 23:19). In the Synodal translation, these words sound like this: "God is not a man and not the son of man, so that he may change. Will he say and not do it? Will he speak and not do it?"

Jesus, too, while on earth, taught this truth in the prayer "Our Father." There are such words there: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." This heavenly government is now established in heaven and will soon rule the earth. The reign of the disobedient angel, Satan the Devil, is running out, as the Bible says: "Therefore, rejoice in heaven and those who dwell in them! Woe to those who live on earth and on the sea, because the devil has come down to you in a great rage, knowing that he does not have much time left" (Revelation 12:12). Soon, the earth will be ruled by its Creator, the true God Jehovah. To do this, he has the wisdom, strength and desire, and, most importantly, no one can stop him from doing this. People have a similar order: the rulers replace each other after a certain time. Similarly, Satan the Devil was allowed to rule the earth for a certain time, that is, God did not allow his rule forever.

I repeat once again: how can you not love such a God, who in the near future will give such a wonderful life to his earthly children? How can I disobey him and become a traitor like Adam or Eve, because Jehovah will not even resurrect them, since they renounced him intentionally and voluntarily? How can I violate his righteous norms, his laws and undermine the foundations of the state? We have already said more than once that obeying the highest authorities is also the law of God: "Let every soul be obedient to the authorities, for there is no power not from God" (Romans 13:1). And I have never violated this law and I will not violate it, of course, if human law does not differ from God's. I assure you of that, Your Honor, for sure. Jesus Christ also taught this: "Give what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God" (Mark 12:17).

The respected prosecutor is unfairly accusing me of a serious crime, and a sentence has even been requested for me. And for what? I still can't figure it out. I did not hear any reasoned evidence of my "grave" crime. Tell me, please, which article of the Constitution of the Russian Federation says that being a Witness to God is a crime?

On October 28, 2021, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation issued a Decree "On Amendments to Certain Resolutions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on Criminal Cases." The document says: "During the criminal proceedings on the crime provided for in Article 282.2 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the courts should establish which specific socially dangerous actions were committed by the guilty person ... Actions of persons not related to the continuation or resumption of the activities of the relevant extremist organization and consisting solely in the exercise of their right to freedom of conscience, religion, T.h. through individual or joint confession of religion, worship or other religious rites and ceremonies, they themselves do not contain signs of extremism, do not constitute a crime provided for in Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation."

Also, Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation has not changed to this day. And I have been using the right guaranteed by her since 1993. Thanks to our state. But I didn't change either: I didn't do worse, but on the contrary, I did better. And this is due to the fact that I learned to fulfill the biblical commandments taught by Jesus Christ. And he didn't teach bad things! Therefore, it hurts me very much that I, a peaceful pensioner, am being tried for something I did not commit — for participating in extremist activities. One consolation is that I am not a criminal, not a thief, not a murderer, and I suffer as a believer who wants to "live in Christ Jesus," as the Bible says: "And all who wish to live godly will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12).

Yes, my situation is not very good right now: my bank cards are blocked, I cannot use the services of a notary, I have been registered with Rosfinmonitoring, I have not been able to leave and visit my children and granddaughter for three years now. But the kind of criminal that I am, you can make any passerby on the street, just with one stroke of the pen of a person who is entrusted with the fate of people. That's what happened to me and my friends. But we don't have any hatred or anger towards the persecutors, they just "don't know what they're doing." At one time, Jesus prayed to his Father, Jehovah God, that he would forgive the people who mocked him and eventually executed him on the stake of torment. He said, "Bless those who curse you and pray for those who offend you" (Luke 6:28).

When we are persecuted, that's what we do: we pray for those who offend us, but in no case do we curse, as this would greatly upset our Father, because we are all brothers and sisters, no matter how we behave. We don't want to be like Cain, who got mad at his brother Abel and ended up killing him. This example shows what anger can lead to, so we do not allow it into our hearts, but on the contrary, we try to show only a kind attitude towards all people. This is what attracted me when I met Jehovah's Witnesses, and later their scrupulous study of the Bible and how it changes lives, character, and relationships with people.

This is, of course, my opinion and vision, and it may be considered biased. I will quote the words of Nikolai Semyonovich Gordienko, a religious scholar, Doctor of Philosophy, professor with about 300 scientific papers. In the book "Russian Jehovah's Witnesses" he writes: "These are loyal citizens of the Russian Federation, who are characterized by law-abiding and obedience to the authorities, high morality, a healthy lifestyle, which meets the fundamental interests of the individual and society. They cultivate a friendly attitude not only to their co-religionists, but also to other citizens. Jehovah's Witnesses are a normal religious denomination, and it should be treated with the same tolerance as other faiths and denominations that legally exist in the Russian Federation and operate within the framework of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The views of Jehovah's Witnesses exclude any immoral, illegal, and even more violent actions against any social groups. Rather, these views can lead to a desire to be tolerant of other people, regardless of their social, racial, or religious affiliation."

I ask you, Your Honor, to take this opinion into account when considering our case as proof of our innocence and non-involvement in the charges that are imputed to us. Moreover, there are a lot of such unbiased opinions about us, all of them are in the volumes of our case. I ask you to look into this matter fairly and acquit innocent people.

Summary of the case

Region:

Magadan region

Locality:

Magadan

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, he conducted divine services together with others, which is interpreted as "organizing the activities of an extremist organization"

The number of the criminal case:

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