The last word of the defendant Anatoly Senin in Kyzyl

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Anatoly Senin in Kyzyl

January 11, 2023

Tyva

From the courtroom

Speaking with the last word, the believer said: "I want to believe that you, Your Honor, will correct ... the legal mistake made by the preliminary investigation authorities and prosecutors, will make the only correct and fair decision and put an end to the phrase "You cannot be executed. To have mercy."

Transcript of the court session in the Kyzyl City Court of the Republic of Tyva dated 11.01.2023 in the case 1-886/2022 on charges of Anatoly Anatolyevich Senin of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Senin Anatoly Anatolyevich:

First of all, I want to thank you, Your Honor, for carefully examining my case. According to this article, perhaps this is the first case in Kyzyl, and being the first is not so easy. Thank you for being patient and kind to my legal ignorance, explaining what I didn't quite understand, and showing trust by letting me go to an elderly mother in another city. Thank you very much for this! You really observe a high culture of behavior in the process, behave with dignity, patiently and politely towards all participants.

Thanks to the secretary for his courtesy and professionalism! You have to type a lot.

Dear Prosecutor, in your person, I want to thank everyone who participated on your part in this case. Thank you also for not always objecting when important documents were attached by the defense.

Thank you to the bailiffs for keeping order, being very tactful and polite.

Alexey Anatolyevich, my lawyer, I want to express my special gratitude to you for being imbued with all the tragedy of what is happening and taking up my case, believing in my innocence from the very beginning. You had to work hard to figure out and understand how to protect a believer. Thank you for understanding my position, respecting my Bible-educated conscience. This fills the heart with joy and tranquility. Thank you very much!

Thanks to my dear friends who have been supporting me all this time by coming to these meetings. Special thanks to my wife for going through this difficult stage of life with me. You are a real support and joy for me! I thank Jehovah for answering our prayers, giving us peace of mind and strength to accept any court decision.

I remember how, at the end of the investigative actions, the investigator of the Investigative Committee told me directly: "I don't see what you can be condemned for, or even cling to." But nevertheless, I am here in the dock. Therefore, I would like to start my last word with one common catch phrase: "Execute, you cannot pardon!" or "Execute, you cannot pardon!" In my case, this phrase serves as an excellent example of displaying the value that lies behind a legally well-prepared document, where every phrase or comma can be crucial when something very important, including human freedom, may depend on a trifle. After all, now I am being persecuted precisely for my faith, adapting it to extremism and the organization of extremist activities.

In fact, the prosecution presented the usual actions of believers in such a way that it looked like some kind of spy games. So, according to the prosecution, one of the most widely used Zoom communication programs in the world is a method of conspiracy. An ordinary peaceful religious meeting and communication with friends on biblical topics is nothing more than a cover for personal religion and the continuation of a banned organization. According to the prosecution, an elder is, it turns out, "an element of the structure of a prohibited organization," and not a spiritual term or the title of a clergyman, as in any religion, for example, as a priest, lama or mullah. And for some reason, any publication of Jehovah's Witnesses without exception is automatically extremist. And what is the result? Ordinary believers, Jehovah's Witnesses, again, are automatically and unreasonably enrolled as members of the legal entity MRO of Kyzyl.

At the same time, the prosecution confirms the fact that "I, Senin A. A., being a follower of the Jehovah's Witnesses religion, have the right to study the Bible, including jointly with other followers." It turns out, on the one hand, I have the right to get together with friends to discuss the Bible, but on the other hand, as soon as I start discussing it with friends, I immediately become "an element of the structure of a prohibited organization." And, perhaps, the most important question, to which the prosecution has not given an answer.: how can we realize the constitutional right to joint confession of faith within the framework of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses and at the same time not become criminally prosecuted? Therefore, it still remains a mystery to me how Jehovah's Witnesses are labeled extremists for peacefully professing an unbridled faith.

This reminded me of a story recorded in the Bible that happened to the son of God, Jesus Christ. In the early morning of 33 A.D., on the last day of Jesus' life on earth, he is brought before the ruler Pontius Pilate. Senior priests falsely and under a far-fetched pretext accuse Jesus that his teachings corrupt the people, that he sows confusion among the people, forbidding them to pay taxes to Caesar and "calling himself Christ the King" (Holy Scripture, Luke 23:2). Having called together the senior priests, the Jewish rulers and the people, Pilate made a statement: "You have brought this man to me as corrupting the people, and behold, I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of anything of which you accuse him" (Luke 23:14). Pontius Pilate understood that Jesus was innocent, but nevertheless Christ is being put to death for those crimes that he did not commit. The same thing is happening today: baseless accusations are being made against Jehovah's Witnesses, containing obvious lies and a distorted interpretation of their teachings.

Your Honor, please note that my beliefs are based on the Bible and cannot be extremist, because the main quality of a Christian, which Christ commanded to show, is love. "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). And Jehovah's Witnesses are a truly worldwide brotherhood without borders: we love each other and all other people, regardless of their place of residence, nationality and position in society. Throughout history, Jehovah's Witnesses have never been involved in any conflict, whether between people or countries. They are known as peace-loving people. All this convincingly proves that such peacefulness is directly opposite to the spirit of the article that I am accused of today — Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation relating to extremism. At the same time, the prosecution, consciously or not, over and over again ignores all the collected facts and evidence of my innocence, bringing the usual confession of faith under the continuation of the activities of an extremist organization.

During the judicial investigation, the following points remained unsubstantiated, to which, Your Honor, I ask you to pay special attention.

Firstly, there were no actions or statements aimed at continuing the activities of the banned organization.

Secondly, it was not proven that I was a member or founder of the MRO of Jehovah's Witnesses in Kyzyl (this is confirmed by the case materials, as well as my request to the Ministry of Justice and the MFNS).

Thirdly, it was not established that I acted on behalf of the Management Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia (no materials or expressions of extremist content were found on any of my electronic devices, as well as any materials confirming my connection with the liquidated MRO court in Kyzyl).

Fourth, the discussion of extremist materials has not been proven (this is confirmed by my request to the Ministry of Justice of Moscow and the Republic of Tyva).

Fifthly, it was also not proven that the meeting was of a public nature (on the contrary, it was proved by examinations that all participants were already adherents of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, the involvement of new participants was not proven).

Sixth, all the witnesses invited and interviewed by the prosecution were also unable to give clear and precise explanations of my involvement in the commission of a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Seventh, my criminal intent and motive to undermine the constitutional order by inciting hatred, enmity, and humiliation of the dignity of people on the basis of belonging to a religion or other social group have also not been proven. The prosecution did not provide a single fact proving that I had criminal intent: where, when and how I expressed a criminal desire to create an extremist organization; where, when and how I expressed a desire to undermine the constitutional order of Russia; where, when and how did I incite hatred and humiliate dignity on the basis of belonging to a religion or other social group, or on any basis at all?

I would like to emphasize once again that all my actions were carried out solely for the purpose of exercising the right to joint confession and dissemination of faith, guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

I would like to emphasize once again that my motives were and remain pure, I did not continue the activities of a banned organization, but wanted and want to continue to peacefully profess my faith, satisfying my spiritual needs. In addition, I still do not understand, if my actions were actually intentional, criminal and socially dangerous, as the prosecution says, then why were these actions not suppressed by the FSB officers for a whole year and a half?

Over the past year and a half, since a criminal case was opened against me, I have not met a single acquaintance who would speak positively about the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses. On the contrary, they are all shocked, especially after the punishment requested by the prosecution against me — 7 years in prison. Everyone who knows me understands that my lifestyle is far from extremism and that I am judged solely for my faith.

In addition, I would like to draw your attention, dear court, that there is not a single victim in this case. If my actions were actually criminal and socially dangerous, then where are the victims of my criminal behavior? There are none, dear court. This alone proves that there is no danger from me, neither to the state, nor to the constitutional order, nor to any groups of individuals or individual citizens. My faith in Jehovah God has nothing to do with the extremism they are trying to accuse me of.

What is the purpose and essence of the punishment, dear court? If the purpose of punishment is the restoration of social justice, then in what way was social justice violated by me? What facts of its violation were established during the judicial investigation? Throughout the entire process, Your Honor, in fact, we discussed my faith in the God Jehovah, forms of worship and belonging to the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. This is indicated by various examinations conducted at the direction of the investigative authorities, which confirmed my belonging to this religion. It was very easy to do this, simply by identifying on the presented transcripts the words that Jehovah's Witnesses use in their religious vocabulary, and the peculiarities of holding recorded meetings of believers peculiar to this religion. And it turns out that they want to condemn me precisely for these actions, so that in the future I no longer pray, discuss the Bible and praise God in songs together with friends. That is, in fact, they want to force me to give up my faith!

If the purpose of punishment is correction, then what exactly should I improve in the next 7 years, according to the prosecution? Thanks to my faith, I have learned to respect the views of people who do not share my beliefs. In any of my work, I always try to be guided by the principle of "doing everything as for God" and doing my job efficiently. This is evidenced by the positive characteristics available in the case from those people with whom I worked. I don't swear, I don't smoke, I don't get drunk, I don't use drugs, I've never had a police record. All this is due to my faith, and it is thanks to it that I am happy and my conscience is clear both before God and before the law.

I have been praying to Jehovah God and reading the Bible for 23 years now, and during this time I have never done any harm to anyone, neither to people nor to the state. I have never committed any crimes, and I have never even had such a thing in my mind. What has changed since April 20, 2017? Why, after the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, does the prosecution believe that I suddenly became dangerous? So what should I improve on? Should I stop worshipping my loving and caring God Jehovah together with my co-religionists? And then who should I become? Will all Jehovah's Witnesses now always be counted among the liquidated Management Center or the MRO? Do I really need to sever all ties with my co-religionists now or stop holding worship services focused on a single religious education program for believers around the world? Or maybe I need to write a renunciation of faith, as was required of Jehovah's Witnesses in the past in some countries? My Bible-trained conscience will not allow me to do any of this, dear court.

Your Honor, let's imagine for a moment that you are not facing a Jehovah's Witness, but a simple citizen of the Russian Federation. Based on the totality of the evidence, do you think he deserves 7 years in prison? I want to believe that you, Your Honor, will correct this legal mistake made by the preliminary investigation authorities and prosecutors, will make the only correct and fair decision and put an end to the phrase "It is impossible to execute. To have mercy."

Thank you, Your Honor, for giving me time to prepare for the last word.

Summary of the case

Region:

Tyva

Locality:

Kyzyl

What is suspected of:

According to investigators, the believer, "realizing his criminal intent," organized the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Kyzyl: he broadcast videos of religious content, encouraged the audience to pray, to perform religious songs and study the Bible.

Criminal case number:

12102930009007011

Case initiated:

January 28, 2021

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigating:

SU IC of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Tyva

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2), 282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-886/2022

The Court of First Instance:

Kyzyl City Court of the Republic of Tyva

Judge of the Court of First instance:

Vyacheslav Kyzyl-ool