The last word of the defendant Alexander Filatov in Krasnoyarsk

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Alexander Filatov in Krasnoyarsk

December 28, 2022

Krasnoyarsk Territory

From the courtroom

In his appeal to the court, Alexander Filatov compared his faith with a ship: "Only after overcoming the distance and the storm, the ship is tested for strength. One day I will be able to return to my native bay with the proven quality of my faith."

Transcript of the court session in the Oktyabrsky District Court of Krasnoyarsk dated 12/28/2022 in the case 1-207/2022 (1-865/2021) on the charge of Filatov Alexander Nikolaevich of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Filatov Alexander Nikolaevich:

In Novorossiysk, my family and I often saw ships sailing into the port. These ships have left an indelible mark on history and influenced my spiritual development. Watching the ships, I learned to show perseverance, the ability to return to a state of equilibrium, despite external forces causing a roll. Like the keel of a ship, inner qualities, firm principles of life, faith in God, help to pass the life path with dignity.

They showed me a book about Auschwitz in the pre-trial detention center. It mentions Jehovah's Witnesses. Thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses ended up in concentration camps for refusing to support the Nazi regime. Many admired their faith. The book mentioned that it was enough to sign a waiver of their beliefs to be released, but only a few did so.

Another interesting detail is mentioned in the book that the Nazis were ready to take only Jehovah's Witnesses as workers, because they were sure that they could not harm anyone according to their beliefs. This fact once again confirms the absurdity of accusing Jehovah's Witnesses of extremism.

I also liked an interesting example in this book. Imagine that you are driving on a high-speed highway, suddenly you see a serious accident. A sense of self-preservation tells you that you need to slow down and drive more carefully, but then you remember that you have urgent business, you are late, and therefore speed up again. I wonder what Jesus said about his followers: "You are the salt of the world." Salt has long been known for its preservative properties. Like salt, Christians restrain moral decay in society.

And Jesus also said: "You are the light of the world." Everyone reacts differently when confronted with Jehovah's Witnesses: someone, figuratively speaking, slows down, thinks about his life. One day, the apostles of Jesus appeared before the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the first century A.D., for preaching about Jesus. They were called a dangerous sect and ordered not to preach. Gamaliel, a well-known law teacher, was present at this trial. He stood up for the disciples of Jesus and said, "Leave these people, let them go. If what they are doing is from people, then it is doomed to fail. If it is from God, then you will not be able to stop them, but only you will turn out to be God's opponents" (Acts 5:38, 39. Modern translation). They listened to his words and released the apostles.

Chairman of the Supreme Court Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Lebedev at a meeting of judges and courts of general jurisdiction and arbitration courts said: "The increased standards of protection of the constitutional rights of citizens are ensured by the Supreme Court's explanation that actions that do not contain signs of extremism and consist solely on the exercise of the right and freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, including through religious rites and ceremonies, do not constitute a crime." It is pleasant that more and more judges take into account the amendments of the Plenum of the Supreme Court on October 28, 2021, and there are precedents for acquittals.

Undoubtedly, the judges needed to show courage to express their civic position. 2000 years ago, Pilate, who judged Jesus Christ, realized that he was not to blame, tried to free him, but fear did not allow him to finish the job. Hitler and Stalin tried to destroy Jehovah's Witnesses. Entire States have failed to do so. Why? I am sure this indicates the support of the Almighty God Jehovah. "And let them know that you, whose name is Jehovah, are one high above the whole earth," it is written in Psalm 82:19 in the translation of Archpriest Gerasim Petrovich Pavsky.

Jehovah's Witnesses have already been rehabilitated as victims of political repression in those years. Why are they being persecuted again? Jesus, the founder of Christianity, named one of the reasons: "Remember the word that I told you: a slave is no bigger than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). And Jesus also said: "You will be brought to judgment, and you will be set before rulers and kings for me to testify before them" (Mark 13:9). Surprisingly, we are now participating in the fulfillment of this prophecy.

However, this does not mean that Christians seek torment, and that they are alien to the desire for freedom and a peaceful life with their families. For example, for the first six months, when I was imprisoned, I did not see my family. Now our youngest son is 4 years old. When I was sent to prison, he was 2.5 years old. That is, I did not participate in a very important process of its development. For 17 months, I haven't had the opportunity to hug my family. My eldest son is already 12 years old, and he also needs my special attention now, he is almost of a transitional age. My wife Lena is often torn apart by countless cases. My accounts are blocked, so I have to come up with some complicated schemes to replenish my account. At the same time, penalties are still accrued, which must be paid. I and my co-religionists are represented as dangerous criminals on a par with murderers and thieves.

We live in a democratic society in which the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right includes the freedom to have or adopt a religion and beliefs, both personally and in community with others in public or in private.

On November 3, 2022, in the concluding observations on the eighth periodic report of the Russian Federation, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern about the violation of religious freedom directed against Jehovah's Witnesses. How great it is when modern courts, like a ship, figuratively speaking, have a reliable keel that provides balance to the ship, and judges have deep internal principles guided by which they make fair decisions. In the Bible, Psalm 94:15 says, "Judges will again make just judgments, and all whose hearts are pure will support them."

The Bible often uses the image of a ship, for example, the expression "Tarshish ships" or "long-distance ships" is found. Tarshish is an ancient city in Spain. Most likely, it was on such a ship that the prophet Jonah sailed when he wanted to hide from Jehovah, to avoid the difficult task of preaching to the inhabitants of the city of Nineveh. The Assyrians or inhabitants of Nineveh were famous for their cruelty. It is not surprising that Jonah was scared, and sailing in the opposite direction, along with other sailors, he got into a strong storm caused by God. To stop the storm, Jonah agreed to be thrown into the raging sea. Being in the belly of a huge fish, Jonah thought a lot. His fear put many people's lives in danger. Subsequently, thanks to his courageous preaching, more than 120,000 residents of Nineveh repented and were saved. Today, more than 100 Jehovah's Witnesses, my co-religionists, are in custody. It is not an easy task to preach in these places, but the amazing cases of the holy Spirit's action, when people radically change their way of life, show that everything is not in vain. And God turns even these circumstances into blessings!

There is such an expression in the Bible as "shipwreck in faith." Historians say that the fleet built by Peter the Great did not last, because it was made in a hurry and without technology. In order not to be shipwrecked in faith, it is necessary, figuratively speaking, to build your ship of faith from reliable materials and technology — on the principles recorded in the Bible.

The anchor is another important part of the ship that ensures safety during a storm. He does not let the ship crash on the rocks. In the Bible, hope is compared to a strong anchor. Hope for the soul is a sea anchor, safe and strong, — it is written in Hebrews 6:18, 19. What kind of hope does the Bible give? Psalm 36:29 contains the wonderful words: "The righteous will inherit the earth and live on it forever." And in the last book of the Bible, in Revelation 21:3-5, it is written: "And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them; they will be his people, and God himself will be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, no crying, no crying, no more sickness, for the former has passed away. And he who sat on the throne said, Behold, I am creating all new things. And he says, "Write it down, because these words are true and true." Here is such a wonderful prospect that will come true very soon!

In English, the word "friendship" is formed from the words "friend" and "ship", in Russian "ship of friends". In my case, it's a "sea of friends"! It's nice to know that I didn't sail alone on this trip. I have my family with me and a large spiritual family of brothers and sisters who support me. In 17 months, I received more than 4,500 letters from different countries, continents and cities from those I didn't even know. These letters contain words of support, encouragement, assurances of love, assurances that people are praying and worrying for me and my family. These are children's drawings, poems, songs, stories and much more. Jesus said that his disciples would be recognized by love. In John 13:34, 35 he said, "I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. That's how you love each other. Therefore, they will know that you are my disciples if you have love among yourselves." My family and I have actually felt this love and support emotionally, spiritually and even financially.

A family can also be compared to a ship. A successful trip requires the coordinated work of the captain and navigator. Trust and love in the family seal the marriage. God's reliable, time-tested advice promotes happiness and unity. This is not surprising, because Jehovah God is the creator of marriage. For 15 years now, the Bible has been helping me and my family successfully cope with difficulties and be happy. For example, the advice from the Bible: "May each of you love your wife as much as yourself. And a wife should deeply respect her husband" (Ephesians 5:33). It is no secret that today the institution of marriage is undergoing difficulties. For example, the latest statistics for Krasnoyarsk: there are 12 divorces for 18 marriages. This is almost 70%. Raising moral and decent people is not an easy task for parents. It's great that the Bible helps to deal with this successfully. I am personally convinced of this.

Ivan Aivazovsky has a painting "Meeting of fishermen on the shore of the Bay of Naples". A touching picture! Wives and children meet fishermen who return home on ships. One day, all prisoners of conscience will return home and families will be reunited. It's going to be a happy time! You can't judge a ship while it's in a quiet harbor. Only after overcoming the distance and the storm, the ship is tested for strength. One day I will be able to return to my native "bay" with the proven quality of my faith.

Dear participants of the process! I want to express my gratitude to everyone. Your Honor, thank you for listening attentively throughout the entire process, also signing applications for appointments, for calls.

I want to thank the assistant prosecutors for using the name of Jehovah God correctly, and the court encouraged them to sanctify this name. Interestingly, its meaning is unique: "I'll be whatever I want to be." It is a guarantee that God will definitely fulfill all his promises, including the fact that there will soon be a paradise on earth.

I want to praise the secretaries for their difficult work. Thank you! I want to express my gratitude to the convoy for showing respect to my family and my friends.

I want to thank my lawyer for trying to understand all the details carefully, despite my personal beliefs.

I want to thank my dear wife and children for supporting me all this time. Thank you for your love, prayers, and patience.

I thank my friends for coming to all the trials and praying for me and my family.

But first of all, I want to thank my God Jehovah for showing and showing me great care and love.

I want to end my speech with the words from the Bible, Deuteronomy 33:26, 27: "There is no one like the true God Yeshur na (the honorable name of Israel), who rushes through the sky to your aid, rides in his majesty on clouds. God has been a refuge since ancient times, His eternal arms support you."

I wish everyone to experience God's support in their lives. I also want to wish everyone a successful voyage on the waves of life. Thank you very much!

Summary of the case

Region:

Krasnoyarsk Territory

Locality:

Krasnoyarsk

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, "he committed organizational actions aimed at continuing the illegal activities of Jehovah's Witnesses, expressed in the leadership of the specified organization, the direct conduct of religious meetings"

Criminal case number:

12102040005000127

Case initiated:

July 9, 2021

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigating:

From the IC of the Russian Federation in the Oktyabrsky district of Krasnoyarsk

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-207/2022 (1-865/2021)

Court of First Instance:

Oktyabrsky District Court of Krasnoyarsk

Judge of the Court of First instance:

Sergey Gruzdev