The last word of the defendant Pyotr Zhiltsov in Yalta

 CRIMEA 

The last word of the defendant Pyotr Zhiltsov in Yalta

February 27, 2023

Crimea

From the courtroom

Addressing the court with the last word, Pyotr Zhiltsov said that he and the other defendants were being tried for "continuing the activities of an organization" that had never even existed. He summed it up: "We were brought before the court because we did not renounce our Christian beliefs."

Transcript of the court session in the Yalta City Court dated 02/27/2023 in the case 1-17/2023 (1-181/2022) on charges of Zhiltsov Pyotr Alekseevich and others of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 and Part 1 of Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Zhiltsov Pyotr Alekseevich: At the beginning of the last word, I want to thank the believers who came even from other cities, despite the weather conditions and the distance in order to attend court sessions. This proves that no matter what city or country the Jehovah's Witnesses live in, they are one worldwide brotherhood, one family. Because people wouldn't come to support extremists or criminals. I also want to express my gratitude to the court guards for being understanding about this.

Thank you so much to the secretary and the lawyers for trying to cooperate. Thank you very much, Vladimir Viktorovich, for the fact that we often made concessions and the trials took place in a calm and quiet environment.

I am not surprised that we, as Jehovah's Witnesses, are in the dock, because at one time even Jesus Christ found himself in this position, even though he performed many miracles — healed the sick, fed the hungry, raised the dead, preached the good news about God. The main purpose of Jesus' coming to earth is to justify the name of God. He did not insult the authorities, did not interfere in political affairs and did not support military conflicts, but was eventually killed as a criminal and blasphemer. It would seem, for what?

Jesus' disciples were also persecuted, calling them "sectarians", and some were even killed. If there had been an article about extremism at that time, they would probably have been convicted of extremism. But there was no such article, so they were openly persecuted for their beliefs. There is a law on extremism in our country, but this does not change the essence. I consider it an honor to defend my beliefs in court.

I am accused of continuing the activities common to all Jehovah's Witnesses. But if this activity is purely religious, then why are my friends and I being persecuted for it? In the biblical book of Mark 12:17 it is written: "Jesus said, Give Caesar's to Caesar, and God's to God." If I want to give God's to God, is that a crime? When Jesus said, "Give Caesar's things to Caesar," he said that one should respect authority and obey the laws of the state, but God's things should be given only to God. Man has no right to claim what belongs to God.

By worshipping God, Jehovah's Witnesses do not violate the laws of the country in which they live. In 1991, they received official registration in the Soviet Union, and after that in Russia and Ukraine. In April 2015, 20 legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses were also officially registered in Crimea.

After the ban on legal entities, there was also no violation of the law, because neither I nor my friends were members of the legal entity "MRO Jehovah's Witnesses of Yalta" and did not continue the activities of this organization. In addition, the Jehovah's Witnesses have never had an organization with that name. The prosecution was unable to figure out which organization it was talking about, and did not find out that my friends and I were accused of continuing the activities of a non-existent organization. But it is precisely our participation in the activities of a religious organization that never existed that we are now accused of!

I also want to draw your attention to the fact that from the moment of detention until today, the prosecution has not provided any evidence that I studied extremist materials. During the search, they also did not find anything extremist in my possession, because I never had it. Classified witnesses said we were just reading the Bible. But it wasn't hard to guess, because Jehovah's Witnesses are known as "people who never part with the Bible."

I really want both the participants in the process and other people to understand why we are being persecuted. When a person begins to study the Bible, he gradually changes his mindset and attitude. Over time, he stops smoking, abusing alcohol, swearing, and also gets rid of other habits objectionable to God. He is changing his attitude towards people, because the Bible teaches that one should "love others as oneself", strives to "be at peace with all people as much as possible" and, of course, be selflessly devoted to God. We were brought before the court because we did not renounce our Christian beliefs.

I constantly pray that the participants in the trial will see that we do not deserve any accusation, much less a real conclusion. Please, Your Honor, pass a fair verdict and acquit me and my friends.

Summary of the case

Region:

Crimea

Locality:

Yalta

Criminal case number:

121023500130000044

Case initiated:

March 4, 2021

Current stage of the case:

proceedings in the court of first instance

Investigating:

The Federal Security Service of Russia for the Republic of Crimea

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.3 (1), 282.2 (1)

The number of the case in court:

1-17/2023 (1-181/2022)

Court:

Yalta City Court

Judge:

Vladimir Romanenko