The last word of the defendant Anton Dergalev in Makhachkala

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Anton Dergalev in Makhachkala

November 8, 2022

Dagestan

From the courtroom

In his last speech, the believer told the court historical examples of how Jehovah's Witnesses were distinguished by courage and never opposed the state, even despite persecution. "I will remain a Jehovah's Witness wherever I am," the believer summed up.

Transcript of the court session in the Kirovsky District Court of Makhachkala dated 08.11.2022 in the case 1-5/2022 (1-230/2021) on charges of Anton Olegovich Dergalev and others. of committing a crime under Part 1 of Articles 282.2 and 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Dergalev Anton Olegovich:

So it's time for my last word. I want to start by thanking you. First of all, I want to thank you, Your Honor. Thank you, Amir Zakaryevich, for the fact that this process took place in an open-minded atmosphere. You have always given us the opportunity to speak freely and even explained some moments when we did not understand something due to the lack of legal education. Thank you for taking care of our physical health, you almost always asked before the meeting how we were feeling, if any of us were ill. You were able to create a trusting atmosphere during the meetings. I want to say that I am glad that our case came to you. Believe me, over the years we have seen a large number of judges and we have someone to compare them with. And regardless of what the verdict will be, I am grateful for the way you conducted this process.

Now I want to turn to the respected prosecutor. Ruslan Khaliliovich, thank you for your patience and endurance, you had to read a huge amount of materials. Reading aloud such voluminous documents, and even with specific religious expressions, is truly not easy, thank you very much! I would like to thank Murad Tagirovich (I hope the respected prosecutor will convey my words of gratitude to him). I would like to thank Murad Tagirovich for the sincerity and kindness shown to us during this process.

Dear lawyers, thank you for being able to sort out this voluminous, difficult case and understand that we are innocent. Our friends asked me to convey a few kind words to you:

"Dear lawyers, we would like to express our gratitude to you. During this difficult time, you spared no effort and time to defend the honor and dignity of our friends.  We want to assure you that God Jehovah will not forget your help that you have given to those who faithfully worship him. The Holy Scriptures say: "He who does good to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his kindness" (Proverbs 19:17). The Creator of the universe, as a kind and prudent gentleman, notices any manifestations of kindness and mercy towards those who are in trouble. Moreover, the Almighty considers himself indebted to those who selflessly help those in need and promises to reward them. There is no doubt that He will not ignore your work either. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to you once again.  Sincerely, friends of your clients."

Halimat Maksudovna, thank you very much for always being ready to help, answer questions, and advise us on legal issues, and these questions did not always concern our case. Thank you very much!

Chakar, I would like to thank you too. Despite the large amount of work, you were always ready to answer our questions, help with materials and regulations. Thank you very much!

I've been thinking a lot about what to say in my last word. And I decided that I would talk about courage. What is courage? Courage is a firmness of mind, a sense of confidence that supports and gives strength. Being courageous means standing up in times of adversity, defending what is right, and enduring trials with dignity and faith.

I want to tell you a little bit about my family. As I said in my testimony, I am a fourth-generation Jehovah's Witness. My great—grandmother, grandmother and now my mother were Jehovah's witnesses. Besides them, quite a few of my relatives practice this religion. All of them are an example for me in showing faith and courage. My mother raised my older brother and me without a father. She always wanted to instill courage in us, but she didn't even realize then that she was teaching us courage by example. I am very grateful to her that I have someone to imitate.

I also really like to imitate Jesus Christ. The life of this great Man is described in detail on the pages of the Bible. I want to briefly tell you a story. Imagine this situation: a lot of people are looking for Jesus to grab him. They are armed with swords and clubs, and there are warriors and guards among them. Jesus is aware of the impending danger. And he knows that these events will lead to his death. However, he is not trying to hide, he is calmly waiting. The crowd is approaching. Judas is ahead, once a close friend of Jesus. He shamelessly betrays his teacher. Jesus remains calm. He steps forward and asks: "Who are you looking for?" —Jesus of Nazareth," they said. Most people would have flinched in front of an impressive armed crowd. Maybe that's what those people wanted. But Jesus does not tremble with fear, does not try to escape or protect himself. He calmly says, "It's me." People were amazed by his composure and courage. Jesus is arrested and brought to the Jewish court in the Sanhedrin. The judges find false witnesses who accuse Jesus of blasphemy, and this is enough for them to convict. Jesus is tied up and led to the Roman ruler Pontius Pilate.

Pilate goes out to them and asks: "What accusation do you bring against this man?" The Jews reply: "If he were not a criminal, we would not have given him to you." Pilate, perhaps feeling that pressure is being exerted on him, says: "Take him yourself and judge according to your law." Further, the Jews, revealing their intention to put Jesus to death, respond: "According to the law, we have no right to kill anyone."

Why do Jews say that? Because if they kill Jesus during the celebration of Easter, it can cause outrage among the people. And if they succeed in having Jesus executed by the Romans on political charges, it will give the impression that the Jews had nothing to do with it.

Interestingly, religious leaders do not tell Pilate that they condemned Jesus for blasphemy. They come up with new accusations: "We have established that this man is leading our people astray, forbids paying taxes to Caesar and even declares himself an Anointed, that is, the king."

The mention of Jesus calling himself king causes Pilate, a representative of the Roman government, concern. Pilate asks Jesus: "Are you the king of the Jews?" In other words, he wants to know if Jesus violated the law of the empire by declaring himself king and thereby rebelling against Caesar. Jesus explains to him that he was not talking about the earthly kingdom, but about the heavenly one.

Pilate sees that his appeals are not helping and that the indignation is only growing. Then he takes some water and washes his hands in front of everyone. He says, "I am innocent of this man's blood. See for yourself."  Pilate then makes several more attempts to free Jesus, but all in vain. Religious leaders come up with new accusations every time, even to the point that they tell Pilate: "If you release him," they threaten, "you are not Caesar's friend. Anyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar." Succumbing to fear, Pilate eventually gives in to the insistent demands of the Jews and gives Jesus up for execution. What was the difference between Jesus and Pilate? Pilate did not have the courage to let Jesus go, but Jesus was calm and unperturbed. That's real courage!

Why did I tell this story? It can be used to draw an analogy with what modern Jehovah's Witnesses face.

During the Soviet Union, the brothers were sentenced without a court hearing. They were simply informed of the sentence: from 5 to 12 years in prison or correctional labor camps. Most received 10 years. For what crime? According to official data, for "anti-state propaganda and subversive activities." But soon the law changed, and Jehovah's Witnesses were sentenced to 25 years in prison. After such a verdict, the 63-year-old believer exclaimed ironically: "Thank you, dear court, for passing such a long sentence. I thought I would live for another 10 years, but you measured out a quarter of a century for me!" Here it is, real courage!

Interestingly, in our indictment, the first words after personal data sound like this: "... committed crimes against the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the state." Does this remind you of anything?

In 1948, prisoners in a Vorkuta camp rebelled. The rebels told the prisoners that everything would work out if they split into groups, for example, by nationality or religious affiliation. At that time, there were 15 Jehovah's Witnesses in the camp. They courageously told the rebels that they were Christians and did not participate in such matters. They explained that the early Christians did not participate in the rebellions against the Romans. Of course, this was unexpected for many prisoners.

This uprising had sad consequences. Armed soldiers suppressed the uprising. But the soldiers did not touch the brothers. And why is that? Because they courageously did not deviate from their beliefs.

Six years later, Jehovah's Witnesses faced a similar test of faith again. For example, the Kengir uprising, which began on May 16, 1954 and was suppressed on June 26 of the same year. According to Wikipedia, 5,200 people participated in it.

There were 80 Jehovah's Witnesses from Moldova in the camp: 46 men and 34 women. All of them, according to the memoirs of the prisoners, showed courage and refused to take part in the Kengir uprising. According to Solzhenitsyn, Jehovah's Witnesses washed dishes in the dining room.

The rebels were perplexed: "Believers of all faiths — Pentecostals, Adventists, Baptists and all others — are participating in the uprising. Only Jehovah's Witnesses refused. What are we going to do with them?" Someone suggested throwing one Witness into the oven to intimidate the others. But the former military man, who enjoyed authority in the camp, stood up and said: "This is unwise. We need to gather them in the last barracks next to the checkpoint. If the authorities launch tanks, the Witnesses will be the first to be crushed, and we will not be responsible for their deaths." The offer was accepted.

Soon, the prisoners began to walk around the barracks and shout: "Jehovah's Witnesses, get out!" All 80 people were herded into the last barrack. To fit them there, bunks were pulled out of the barracks. This barrack became a "prison" inside the camp. In this cramped room, they often prayed and asked Jehovah to give them wisdom and "strength beyond ordinary" (2 Corinthians 4:7). I admire their courage, because they didn't know what was ahead of them.

According to the memoirs of Nikolai Gutsulyak, none of the Jehovah's Witnesses died, since at the beginning of the storming of the camp they were taken out by soldiers behind the fence. "Suddenly, soldiers burst into our barracks. "Saints, get out of the barracks quickly and run out over the fence!" they shouted. The soldiers were ordered not to shoot at us, but to accompany and guard us. Until the battle was over, we were in the steppe outside the camp."

Ferenc Varconi, a prisoner of Kengir originally from Hungary, recalls the conflict with Jehovah's Witnesses in this way: "I and others especially saw their faith and courage during the Kengir uprising in 1954. Jehovah's Witnesses did not participate in the uprising itself, or even in the preparations for it. They remained remarkably calm and tried to explain their position to other prisoners. I was so impressed by the behavior of the Witnesses that I decided to ask them about their faith."

Why I told you about it: I experienced something similar myself while in jail. The arrested decided to rebel, they expressed this by making a lot of noise, shouting, kicking at doors and the like. Then they decided to go on a hunger strike. To do this, during the inspection, food, a refrigerator and dishes were taken out of the cell. Since I adhere to the position of neutrality, I could not participate in this riot. I needed to explain my position clearly to my cellmates. Then I gathered everyone in the cell and opened the Bible to the book of Romans, chapter 13, verses 1 and 2. I explained that I was trying to be neutral and not take anyone's position because I didn't want to incur God's judgment on myself. They understood me and agreed with my position. In the future, there were several more riots, but there were no questions for me anymore. Even when new people appeared in the cell and a similar situation arose, the cellmates themselves explained that I was not involved in such cases.

Today in Russia, Jehovah's Witnesses are being watched very closely, so closely that wiretaps and video cameras are being installed, and surveillance is being conducted. In our case, wiretapping was conducted for more than a year and a half. But interestingly, in March 2019, I worked inside the FSB building and posed no danger to the employees of this department, but on the contrary, I fed everyone delicious chocolate with fruits. But on June 1, 2019, I suddenly became dangerous, and, according to the investigator, I needed to be isolated from society.

I do not want to speak in my last word about the evidence, about the mistakes and shortcomings of the investigation, a lot has already been said about this. I wanted to tell you about the courage that the servants of God have shown in the past and that they are showing today. I have given only a few examples, and there are countless of them. I want to show courage and faith myself, no matter what. And whatever the verdict, I will remain a Jehovah's Witness wherever I am.

I ask the respected court to find me innocent.

Summary of the case

Region:

Dagestan

Locality:

Makhachkala

What is suspected of:

According to the investigation, "they organized religious gatherings, so-called "meetings", during which they conducted with the participation of residents of the Republic of Dagestan a study of printed materials of the banned organization "Management Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia""

Criminal case number:

11907820001000056

Case initiated:

May 27, 2019

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigating:

The Federal Security Service of Russia for the Republic of Dagestan

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1), 282.3 (1), 282.2 (1.1)

Case number in court:

1-5/2022 (1-230/2021)

Court:

Kirovsky District Court of Makhachkala

Judge:

Amirov Amir