The last word of the defendant Ekaterina Menkova in Elista

 RUSSIA 

 

The last word of the defendant Ekaterina Menkova in Elista

June 5, 2024

Kalmykia

"My views and life principles have nothing to do with extremism, hatred, or enmity," the believer said at the trial and asked: "Is it worth condemning for wanting to help people and glorify God?"

Transcript of the court session in the Elista City Court dated 06/05/2024 in the case 1-112/2024 on the accusation of Ekaterina Vladimirovna Menkova of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Menkova Ekaterina Vladimirovna:

The first thing I would like to do is thank you for the kind things that happened during the meetings. Your Honor, you set an example to all participants in the process of how to be well organized. You allowed our defenders to participate in the trial along with our lawyers. Also, friends and family could always be present in the hall. Sometimes you noticed that we did not understand the essence of the question with legal terms, you aptly rephrased it and even offered possible answers. It helped not to feel awkward. And, most importantly, in the very first minutes of the first meeting, you said that you wanted everything to take place in a calm atmosphere. And indeed, the respectful tone that was set at that time has been maintained all this time. Thank you for that.

I would like to thank all the assistants and secretaries of our meetings. You have painstaking work to keep minutes of meetings and other preparatory matters, which, although not visible to our eyes, are also important. Thank you very much.

Marina Evgenievna, in your person, as the state prosecutor, I want to thank you for your kindness. I was also personally touched by your attentiveness to the feelings of others. This was evident when the ORM discs were examined, you selected only the necessary fragments, tactfully omitting the moments of everyday life. Although I understand that this required more careful preparation from you. I want to say a special thank you for your smile.

Sergey Ochirovich, you are not just a lawyer, but above all a caring person. You did not treat my situation as a formal performance of duties, but took everything to heart. I remember the moment when the investigator brought this grave accusation against me. When you saw the tears on my face, you found kind words for me. I am very grateful to you for all your efforts to help me.

Vladislav Rafaelievich, you are not just my defender along with my lawyer, you are a true family friend. You were there all the time, even though you had to get from another city, put off all your business, work and even family to support and provide any help. You and your wife literally lived our troubles with my family. It is worth a lot to feel such friendly support.

On behalf of myself and my friends, I thank the bailiffs for your indispensable politeness.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the FSB staff for the delicately conducted search and, in general, for the correct attitude.

My friends from different places and cities, you have been a source of smiles and joy. You literally enveloped us with your friendly care and thoughts about us.

To my dear and beloved, Vasily and Erdni, I want to say that trials are a special test. But they not only did not distance us, but made us even closer, more united. All this time, you have been courageous yourself, and you have not allowed me to be discouraged.

During all this time of the trial, I have made sure that each of you understands that we are not extremists, not criminals, but peaceful, law-abiding citizens of our country. Therefore, I would like to thank all the participants in the process for the calm atmosphere.

I say special thanks to my Heavenly Father, Jehovah. He promised through the pages of the Bible that he would never leave. From the moment of the search and all this time, I feel his warm support.

Your Honor, I have a clear conscience before people, the state and God. And what I am accused of can be illustrated by an example. If you imagine that there was one coffee shop in the city of Elista, and its owners were found guilty of violating the law and the establishment was closed. And now a man who loves coffee, but has never even been to this cafe in his life, is accused of continuing the activities of that coffee shop, since there is a fact that he did some actions similar to some actions of the owners of a closed coffee shop, namely, brewed himself coffee, treated friends.

As I mentioned earlier, my faith and my worship have nothing to do with the legal organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in Elista. I have never been a member of the organization. Only a few months ago, when reviewing the case, I read about the existence of the MRO charter in the case. I get goosebumps from such words as "criminal offense", "extremist motives", "criminal intent", "undermining the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the state".

In my last word, I would like to draw the court's attention to my worship of God, which the investigating authorities considered an extremist crime. I want to show that my actions are based on the Bible, and not on the charter of some organization, and give reasons for this incompatibility.

I'm trying to be a decent member of society. For me, this means not only not doing something bad to others, but also trying to act kindly.

Back in the first century, Jesus formulated the principle of morality — in another way it is also called the "golden rule", it sounds like this: "And as you want people to do to you, so do to them" (Luke 6:31). The keyword "do" encourages me to treat others like this how I would like to be treated. I would not like to have good things hidden from me or to be deprived of something. Therefore, I cannot help but share the benefits of biblical advice, as well as the encouraging promises of God that I trust.

I would like to explain more specifically the first part, in which I see the practicality of advice. Surely many people have heard the famous saying of Hippocrates: "The disease is easier to prevent than to treat." The benefits of preventive measures are also appreciated in law enforcement. To do this, in addition to the code of laws, the authorities carry out whole systems of measures to eliminate the causes of crimes. For example, conversations are conducted, individual educational work and other measures are applied. They are aimed at changing a person's thinking to a more peaceful one, encouraging them to think about the consequences of their actions, and paying attention to the benefits of law-abiding. Such work encourages you to think more broadly than just knowing the law and knowing what is possible and what is not.

The Bible can be called an effective way to prevent crimes. Why? For me, this is a reliable reference point where you can find clear moral standards. The principles of moral behavior set out in it motivate to eradicate the root cause of offenses. They encourage you to think about the question "why?" and to shape one's conscience morally in accordance with it.

I'll give you an example. In the park, on a painted bench, to warn people, you can write on a piece of paper: "You can not sit down", "You can not put objects", "You can not allow pets", "You can not touch" and more. Or you can write: "Colored." The person passing by will draw conclusions of what should not be done, because he has the answer to the question "why?". Because it is "colored".

I will briefly give one specific argument on how biblical principles teach conscience. The concept of extremism includes a call to violent action. Whereas the biblical principle that I try to adhere to teaches not only not to resort to violence, but to show humanity: "Love does not harm one's neighbor; and so love is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13:10).

In other words, I don't want to quarrel, steal, take revenge, feud, be exalted and so on, knowing the answer to the question "why?". Because human love is at the heart of all the principles of the Bible. This is the answer to the question of why it is obvious that I have not committed and will never commit an extremist crime.

Another factor is why in my life I try not to hide the usefulness and practicality of the Bible. Unfortunately, there was a time when I thought that everyone around me needed to radically change, everyone except me. This, in turn, was reflected in the relationships in the family and with others. I was touched by these words: "Do not do anything out of selfish or vain motives. Be humble and consider others above yourself" (Phil. 2:3). This thought prompted me to think that first of all you need to start with yourself, work on your qualities. If I hadn't realized this, I'm more likely to say that my family life would have already been destroyed. And the words "consider others above yourself" encourage me not to incite intolerance, but to respect people who have different values and religion, nation and race, age and position.

It is quite obvious to me that the Biblical principles do not undermine the order and security of the country, society and family, but create and strengthen. I have learned from my own experience that they can improve the quality of life if you start using them. And if we share something marginally useful with each other: good recipes, car repair tips, and even a recommendation for an interesting movie, then how can we keep silent about this? It's only natural that I want to share this good stuff. That explains why I wrote those letters. Your Honor, as it has been investigated, their very content speaks to my peaceful views: I write personally on my own behalf, about what I saw as beneficial for myself. They do not contain propaganda of extremism and incitement to discord, on the contrary, in them I speak directly about my desire to support and encourage others. Agree, each of us sometimes finds himself in stressful life situations. Such moments can lead to despair or depression. And it's great if at this moment a reliable friend strengthens and assures of support. This friend is our Creator. He gives us reasonable hope because he knows how difficult it is for all of us.

The question may arise: how can a positive outlook on the future help today? For example, an employee has to endure rudeness from the boss. However, he has the opportunity to tell the director of the company about it — a kind, fair person. The director assures him that he knows everything and that the employment contract with that boss will expire very soon, and he appreciates the employee very much. How does the employee feel after this conversation? Although nothing has changed at this very moment, he already has the strength to continue working, knowing that just a little more and everything will be fine.

The moments when hope replaces despondency with joy, and excessive anxiety with confidence in God's help and in a good future are very valuable to me. One of the biblical prophecies confirming God's desire to improve people's lives for the better is recorded in Revelation, chapter 21, verse 4: "And He [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, and there will be no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain, because all the old things are gone forever." People will no longer have any reason to cry. There won't even be death anymore! Of course, this is very good news that warms my heart. I want others to feel a little better about it.

And I can't help but mention something that I especially cherish: the knowledge that you can make friends with God. And the first step to friendship is acquaintance, that is, to get to know each other by name. In many translations of the Bible and in world works, as I mentioned earlier, the name Jehovah occurs many times. It was amazing for me to learn that the world-famous expression "hallelujah" has an original sound in Hebrew "halelu—Yah", in Greek - "hallelujah", literally translates as: "Praise Yag". Yag is a short form of the name Jehovah.

After getting to know each other, it is interesting to find out what qualities a person has, what principles he is guided by. It depends on whether we want to become close friends or not. The Bible shows the facets of the real personality of God well. The most outstanding quality of Jehovah's God is mentioned in the First Letter of John, the 4th chapter, the 8th verse: "God is love." That is, everything that Jehovah does is dictated by love. Nature, animals, plants, the way man was created. All this shows that God loves us. We were created not just to exist, but to live and enjoy life. It is quite obvious that Jehovah is not a cruel God, but a loving One. He is not responsible for our suffering, but takes care of us every day. He does not test us, but gives us the strength to overcome our difficulties. For him, there are no divisions between people. We are all his beloved children. By recognizing the qualities of God, I learn to show kindness, humility, and compassion myself. And these qualities exclude extremism.

In my last word, I briefly wanted to show that my views and life principles have nothing to do with extremism, hatred, or hostility. As I said at the beginning, my love for God and others encouraged me not to be silent. Is it worth condemning for the desire to help people and glorify God?

Your Honor, in the end, I would like to ask you to look at the actions that my friends and I are accused of, not only from a legal point of view, but also from the point of view of morality and morality. Is reading the Bible, discussing biblical thoughts, and praying to Jehovah God a bad thing or not? I am convinced that all these actions cannot be bad, much less extremist and dangerous. On the contrary, the Bible is a kind of guide to countering extremism within oneself. It helps a believer to eradicate malice, hatred, cruelty from his heart and acquire positive qualities, maintain a positive attitude, overcoming difficulties. My views give me hope, and I don't want to lose it. I strive to be a good mom, a faithful wife, a responsible employee, and an honest person. My faith helps me in this.

Although there are no victims from my actions, and there cannot be, such accusations have made my family and relatives suffer, already depriving me of the right to an honest name. I peacefully confessed my faith. It is very valuable to me, because it is an integral part of my life. Your Honor, at our meetings, you unbiasedly reminded us to adhere to that clear line, separating issues of faith and religion from the extremist activities of the liquidated organization. I hope that communication with us during these court sessions, as well as an impartial study of the materials of the criminal case, have convinced you that we are not extremists, that we are not dangerous to society and are not guilty of committing such a serious crime.

Please, Your Honor, when making a final decision, take into account all of the above and acquit me and the other defendants.

Summary of the case

Region:

Kalmykia

Locality:

Elista

What is suspected of:

"Conducts religious meetings and directly participates in them in online conferences, as well as involves residents of the region in the activities of this organization for the purpose of propaganda"

Criminal case number:

12307850001000001

Case initiated:

February 16, 2023

Current stage of the case:

Proceedings in the court of first instance

Investigating:

The Federal Security Service for the Republic of Kalmykia

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2), 282.2 (1)

The number of the case in court:

1-112/2024

Court of First Instance:

Elista City Court

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Alexey Polevshchikov