The last word of the defendant Maxim Derendyaev in Izhevsk

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Maxim Derendyaev in Izhevsk

May 13, 2024

Udmurtia

The believer said that 1,000 hours of hidden audio recordings were collected against him, in which there is not a single extremist statement: "For almost 3 years of preliminary investigation and court proceedings, I have not been able to understand what my actions the prosecution considers a crime."

Transcript of the court session in Pervomaisky district Court of Izhevsk dated 05/13/2024 on the case 1-7/2024 (1-18/2023; 1-233/2022) on the charges of Derendyaev Maxim Ivanovich and others. of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Derendyaev Maxim Ivanovich:

At the beginning of my last word, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you, Your Honor, for being tactful and patient, listening attentively and explaining when I did not understand some legal issues. I also want to thank the State prosecutor. From the very beginning of the court sessions, you tried to pronounce the name of God correctly. As a believer, this is very important to me.

Many thanks to the lawyers for their hard work. It is not easy to protect a person without knowing who he is and what he believes in, what is the difference between a legal entity and a legitimate profession of religion. Thank you for understanding these nuances and seeing that Jehovah's Witnesses are not criminals, but sincerely believing people.

I want to thank my dear wife Tatiana. It is very important when there is a loved one nearby who is ready to support and assist in restoring my good name from unfair accusations.

I thank my co-religionists and friends who came to the courthouse throughout the trial, and also wrote letters of support to the pre-trial detention center. During the 3 months I spent there, I received about 900 letters from 37 countries.

After almost 3 years of preliminary investigation and court proceedings, I have not been able to understand what my actions the prosecution considers a crime. My conscience tells me that I respected the laws of the state and obeyed God. I was brought up to always evaluate my actions from the point of view of compliance with the law, even such simple things as crossing the road in the right place, being honest at work, not taking someone else's, etc.

Since 2017, a hidden record has been kept against me for 4 years. This is about 1,000 hours of communication at the services of a religious group and conversations in a relaxed atmosphere with family members, co-religionists, including on everyday topics. And not a single extremist statement. If there were such statements or motives, then they would definitely have been included in the texts of the transcripts, but they were not!

All the witnesses interviewed, including those from the prosecution, described me positively. I have known many of them for many years, so they could form an objective opinion about me. The Bible says that "everyone will carry their own burden." This burden is the decisions that a person makes and their consequences. I respect a person's right to choose, so there are my words on the videos: "this is your decision", "your choice". I have never forced anyone to live according to the laws of God or to practice the non-forbidden religion of Jehovah's Witnesses.

The case materials, the listened-to videos and the testimony of witnesses convince me of my innocence. If a believer says that pressure was exerted on him, he was threatened, and third parties were present at the interrogation, not specified in the protocol, and the interrogation itself lasted longer than the specified time, then it was so. God sees everything, it is impossible to deceive him, so a believer will not deceive. But if the prosecution resorts to deception, it means that in fact there is no guilt, they are trying to create it artificially. It's unfair and unfair. For me, it's mean, like playing chess with a child and deliberately breaking the rules of the game, taking advantage of his ignorance to win at any cost.

Dear court, right now I feel like such a deceived child. Please restore justice and my belief that people can act honestly and according to their conscience.

Summary of the case

Region:

Udmurtia

Locality:

Izhevsk

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, the believers coordinated and coordinated actions to organize preaching activities and spread the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses in Izhevsk

The number of the criminal case:

12102940001001701

Case initiated:

April 13, 2021

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has not entered into force

Investigating:

SU IC of the Russian Federation for the Udmurt Republic

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-7/2024 (1-18/2023; 1-233/2022)

Court of first instance:

Pervomaisky District Court of Izhevsk

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Marina Khokhryakova.