The last word of the defendant Kirill Gushchin in May

 RUSSIA 

 

The last word of the defendant Kirill Gushchin in May

April 26, 2024

Kabardino-Balkaria

Kirill Gushchin tells the court about his faith in God, as well as how biblical principles help believers to be good citizens: "Jehovah's Witnesses have a good reputation all over the world. No State has been affected by their activities yet."

Transcript of the court session in the Maysky District Court of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic in Maysky dated 04/26/2024 in the case 1-1/2024 on charges of Kirill Olegovich Gushchin of committing a crime under Parts 1 and 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the art. The Criminal Code OF the Russian Federation.

Kirill Olegovich Gushchin:

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to all participants in the process. And first of all, Ruslan Salikhovich, for your attitude towards me, especially when you patiently corrected me, told me what to say and how to do the right thing so that everything was within the framework of a legitimate judicial process. Thank you.

I also thank the prosecution, in your person, all the accusers who participated in the trials. Thanks to the secretary. You prepared the hall for us, took notes, and tried to have me present at the next meeting. Thanks to my lawyer Larisa Kirillovna. You helped me in this process, so to speak, carried this burden with me, prompted me. Thanks to the bailiffs. You have always warmly welcomed not only me, but also all the spectators, and ensured order during the trial. Thanks!

Your Honor, I'm not guilty of anything, I'm not an extremist. Why? I am not an extremist because I am a Jehovah's Witness. And now I will explain why this is so.

Religious scholar Sergey Ivanenko wrote a book about Jehovah's Witnesses and called it "About people who never part with the Bible." This is a very accurate description. Of course, this does not mean that I literally put the Bible under my pillow. I do not part with the Bible, because it is in my mind and in my heart. But what I feed my "inner man" is what I am. And that's what I put into myself. Jesus Christ named two of the most important commandments: "Love your God Jehovah with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind"… And the second one is like it: "Love your neighbors as yourself." How do I show that I love my neighbors? Not doing anything that will cause them any harm: not cheating, not stealing, not slandering, not killing, and the like. By following the commandments written in the Bible, I show that I love God. That's what the Bible says: "To love God means to keep his commandments."

One of the commands of God says: "Every person must obey the highest authorities, because any authority is from God." This was recorded by the Apostle Paul in Romans 13:1. There is a similar thought in the First letter of Peter 2:13, 14: "For the sake of the Lord, obey all those who are endowed with authority, whether it is the king, because he holds a high position, or the governors whom the king has appointed to punish criminals and praise those who do good."

The meaning of these words is clear — to be obedient to the authorities and treat them with respect. And this is in no way linked to extremism, since the extremist actively opposes the authorities. Was I noticed in this? The submitted materials show that I did not commit anything like this.

I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. For me, Jesus is an example to follow. After all, today many people choose for themselves different people whom they want to emulate — actors, singers, athletes. And this is not surprising. So what's extremist about me wanting to take an example from Jesus? After all, he was an attentive, caring, sensitive, loving person. He was not a facetious person. For example, he showed personal attention to leprosy patients, the blind and the lame, whom people considered unclean and treated with contempt. And most importantly, he showed with his life what it means to love God not only with words, but also with deeds. Therefore, here I repeat, I want to imitate him.

It is also thanks to the knowledge and advice from the Bible that my dear wife and I celebrated 20 years of living together this year. If I did not have such knowledge about family life, then I do not know how things would be for me, because my parents were not a role model for me in this. In my childhood, I mostly saw scandals between them. I am very grateful to God Jehovah for his guidance. And the Bible also helped me in my work: I became an employee who is appreciated because I am guided by the principle of "do everything as for Jehovah." In fact, the receiver of my work is primarily not the employer (after all, he does not understand many points), but the Almighty, and here cheating is not an option.

The fact that I was given biblical knowledge can be talked about for a very long time, but not today. I just want to point out one more point. Thanks to the Word of God, I look into tomorrow with confidence, because I see how the prophecies written in the Bible have been fulfilled, are being fulfilled today and will be fulfilled in the future. And by standing before you today, Your Honor, all of us who are here, who conducted the investigation, who participated in the trial, the words spoken by Jesus and recorded in Luke 21:12, 13 have been fulfilled: "But before all this happens, people will persecute you, they They will grab you, bring you to synagogues for trial and throw you into prisons. Because of my name, you will be led to kings and rulers. This will give you the opportunity to preach." It is this honor that I am honored to stand in front of you, dear Ruslan Salikhovich, and in front of all participants in the process and speak about my faith.

But at the same time, I cannot help but notice that, listening to the loud speech in the prosecutor's debate, as well as reading the indictment, I do not understand what is happening. According to the prosecution, I committed "a crime against the foundations of the Constitutional System of the Russian Federation and the security of the state ... acting out of extremist motives" by organizing meetings where topics were discussed: "God is love", "Love overcomes everything", "Love that never goes away". And I'm asking the prosecution: "Are you serious? Do you really think that such topics threaten the security of the state?"

There is nothing about any subversive and threatening activities against the Russian state on all recordings made during the OPM. Isn't the state interested in its citizens being law-abiding? Jehovah's Witnesses all over the world have a good reputation. No State has yet been affected by their activities. The only threat to the investigating authorities coming from Jehovah's Witnesses is to remain unemployed. Do you remember the last time you initiated a criminal case against a person who is a Jehovah's Witness for murder, robbery, robbery, theft, theft, fraud and the like? Has this ever happened in your practice? Are there such cases?

Such terrible and unfair accusations are very frightening, because they show that history teaches little. The materials of the criminal case contain a report attached at the stage of familiarization with the case materials. It says the following: "In the course of further investigation, it was irrefutably proved that after the ban imposed on the International Association of Bible Scholars on October 18, 1933, the following persons continue to engage in illegal activities to this day." The following are the accused, 9 of them. "It has been established that the accused, who have been calling themselves "Jehovah's Witnesses" for several years:

— they held meetings in their apartments where they discussed their illegal activities;

— read and distributed printed materials of the banned Association, as well as exchanged them with each other;

— received these materials for a fee and thereby provided financial assistance to the Gute Hoffung (Good Hope) charity organization International Association of Bible Researchers;

— we gathered together to listen to the radio broadcasts of Bible Researchers broadcast from abroad."

This report was compiled by the Directorate of the Secret State Police — the Gestapo — on October 15, 1936. The charges are identical, but written down more concisely. Jews, Communists, and Jehovah's Witnesses were severely persecuted in Nazi Germany. In concentration camps, prisoners were given color codes. Jehovah's Witnesses had their own designation — the purple triangle.

So has history not shown that such persecution is a path to terrible consequences? The words from Isaiah 5:20 are very relevant here: "Woe to those who call good evil and evil good, darkness light and light darkness, bitter sweet and bitter sweet."

Your Honor, I have been a Jehovah's Witness for 20 years. During this time, law enforcement officers came to me only on May 20, 2020, when we were searched and we learned about the initiation of a criminal case against us, me and my wife. And before that? Since 2004, what violations have I had? Did I have any problems with my neighbors? Or with anyone at all? There were no statements. I posed no threat to anyone.

What about now? In 2017, legal entities were liquidated: the Management Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and the mPOS that are part of it. But this decision did not prohibit my religion. Therefore, Your Honor, I am not guilty, I did not organize anything and did not continue the activities of the liquidated local religious organization. I'm just using the freedom that Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation gives me.

And finally, a question for reflection: imagine that the international football federations, FIFA and UEFA have been banned and recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation. Will they stop playing football in Russia? Or will a group of people gathered to play football — adults, children, men, women — also be extremists? Will they be searched for a soccer ball? And Jehovah's Witnesses are being searched today in search of the Bible!

Summary of the case

Region:

Kabardino-Balkaria

Locality:

Maysky

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, "he took active actions, expressed in conducting divine services, consisting of a consistent performance of songs ... and prayers to God Jehovah"

Criminal case number:

12002830005000024

Case initiated:

May 7, 2020

Current stage of the case:

Proceedings in the court of first instance

Investigating:

The May interdistrict Investigative Department of the SU IC of the Russian Federation for the Kabardino-Balkar Republic

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1), 282.2 (1.1)

The number of the case in court:

1-1/2024 (1-2/2023; 1-7/2022; 1-128/2021)

The Court:

Maysky District Court of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic

Referee:

Ruslan Atakuev