The last word of the defendant Evgeny Bitusov in the Zee

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Evgeny Bitusov in the Zee

December 27, 2022

Amur region

From the courtroom

Assessing what is happening with Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia in his last word, Yevgeny Bitusov quoted the words of the writer Albert Camus: "When religion is combined with politics, the Inquisition is born."

Transcript of the court session in the Zeisky District Court of the Amur Region dated 12/27/2022 in the case 1-96/2022 on charges of Evgeny Vladimirovich Bitusov and Leonid Ivanovich Druzhinin of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Bitusov Evgeny Vladimirovich:

Your Honor and dear court! Maybe my last word will be very different from what the defendants usually talk about. But I am not an ordinary defendant either, since the article and the case are also unusual.

During the preparation, I did not know what could or should be said, so I decided to see what my co-believers were talking about, because a wave of persecution swept across our large country from one edge to the other. It is clear from their statements that they appreciate the work of law enforcement officers and the court, so they praised and thanked them. This was not flattery, and they did it not because they wanted to get a reduced sentence — many were well aware that they were facing real terms.

I also want to thank the participants in the process for their patience and understanding. We Christians do this because we try to imitate our God Jehovah, who sees the good sides in people. And, of course, we listen to the words of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew 5:43, 44.

Nevertheless, I would like to evaluate the work of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities. Statistics and facts will help me with this. However, statistics do not reflect all the experiences, stresses, fears and upsets that I and my co-believers, our families, relatives and friends are going through. I would like to give examples of what Jehovah's Witnesses are facing today.

I cannot but quote the words of Albert Camus, a writer and journalist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. He said: "When religion is combined with politics, the Inquisition is born." This statement accurately reflects what is happening to Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

I have previously stated that accusing me of extremism, as well as the accusations of my [spiritual] brothers and sisters throughout the country, as well as all the evidence provided in the materials (and these are hundreds of volumes), is only creating the appearance of fighting extremism. Everything is far-fetched and sewn with white threads. For example, there are no video or audio recordings in the case file confirming my guilt, but only assumptions of law enforcement agencies. There are no witnesses, there are no victims, there is nothing. There is only evidence that I am a religious person who professed his religion within the framework of constitutional law.

Perhaps someone does not like my religion, and people may have different reasons for that: someone has a personal dislike for religion as such; someone does not like that Jehovah's Witnesses, coming to their house, talk about the Bible. But there are also those who sincerely believe misinformation from the media or gossip. Today's massacre of Jehovah's Witnesses makes people think that we are not Christians, but terrible sectarians and criminals who kill and sacrifice their children, take away property and material benefits from honest citizens of our country. Indeed, in Russia, only criminals who have committed serious crimes, such as, for example, murders, are imprisoned for such long periods.

All this upsets me, but it doesn't surprise me. When I started studying the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses in 1994, literally from the first meetings we discussed the words of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of John 15:20 about persecution. Although at that time I could not even imagine what form the persecution would take…

And I also remember the movie "Purple Triangles", which made a lasting impression on me. It told about the courage of the Kusserov family. 13 members of this family were severely persecuted by the Nazi regime because they were Jehovah's Witnesses. Two brothers from this family, Wilhelm and Wolfgang, were executed for refusing to take up arms. These and thousands more examples of courage, strong faith, and perseverance, both in the past and present, are our legacy.

In the history of true Christians, there have been many attempts to defame them. (The phrase "true Christians" is not a demonstration of the superiority of one religion over another. Today [the word Christian] has lost its original meaning. For example, some people believe that it is enough just to celebrate religious holidays, but to live according to the commandments of Christ is superfluous). Take, for example, the apostles of Jesus. There are examples of such attempts in the book of Acts of the Apostles, chapters 4 and 5. There are many similarities with our case: charges without evidence, a restraining order and punishment without guilt. But the most important thing is the reaction of true Christians. They did not lose heart, but continued their service to God.

I would also like to recall the example of Jesus Christ himself, recorded in the Gospel of John, the 18th chapter. Since Jesus did not have a permanent place of residence, the search and detention took place at the location. Verse 19 describes an interrogation about the organization and its members. In verses 20 and 21, Jesus asks for proof of his guilt and for witnesses to be called from the prosecution. In verse 22, Jesus is severely denied the petition, in verses 35-37 the interrogation was continued, only in another department. In chapter 19, verses 1-3, Pilate punishes Jesus cruelly, but conditionally, and the interrogators use torture. In verses 6-16, the Supreme Court and religious fanatics in authority accuse Jesus of extremism, that is, of undermining the constitutional order of the Roman Empire, promoting his own exclusivity and superiority, as well as organizing an extremist community and mass dissemination of extremist ideas. The sentence is the ultimate punishment. If Jesus Christ lived on earth today, he would have become the number one extremist in Russia.

Another authority for me is the Christian, the Apostle Paul. The chronology of his trial was no different from other trials: the same baseless accusations of extremism and the punishment of an innocent person.

[…]

Today, for true Christians, as in the past, the most important task is to preach about the government of God, as it will solve all problems on earth. Unfortunately, most people do not take this seriously, for them it is nothing more than naive fairy tales or legends. But the disbelief of the majority does not mean that this is not true.

Jesus Christ also said, "The end will come." This is not the end of humanity, this is the end of those who do evil, injustice, bring suffering and do not put God in anything.

Today, Jesus Christ relives with his friends every interrogation, every trial, every sentence and imprisonment over and over again. After all, Jesus did not forget what was done to him 2,000 years ago when he lived on earth — interrogation, trial, sentence, death.

That's probably all I wanted to say to the esteemed court.

A few more words to my family and friends. My dear ones, I would like to thank you. You are always there, and your reliable shoulder in difficult times is valuable for our family, which gives confidence and desire to move forward. Dear ones, I would like you to be supported in the future by the words of the Apostle Paul from the Second Letter to Timothy 1:8.

Dear friends, thank you for your support! You came to the courthouse in both heat and cold to hug us and tell us that we are not alone. Our large spiritual family is another blessing from Jehovah. I began to understand the words from the Second Letter to Corinthians 13:11 even better.

Dear Kostya and Rita, thank you very much for many, many good deeds that we will never forget. Thank you, Oleg and Natasha, for coming such a long way to take care of us and make us feel comfortable during the process. Victoria Alexandrovna, thank you for your humanity, justice and kindness to strangers.

Summary of the case

Region:

Amur region

Locality:

Zea

What is suspected of:

"By searching for places for religious events, providing these places with computer equipment ... intentionally organized [and] weekly religious events" (from the decision on bringing as an accused)

Criminal case number:

12007100001000038

Case initiated:

August 10, 2020

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigating:

The Federal Security Service of Russia for the Amur region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-96/2022

The Court of First Instance:

Zeisky District Court of the Amur region

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Olga Kolesova