The last word of the defendant Maria Karpova in Dagestan

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Maria Karpova in Dagestan

November 18, 2022

Dagestan

From the courtroom

Addressing the court with the last word, Maria stated: "I decided that I would show kindness wherever I was and no matter what happened to me… Whatever the verdict, I will not become an extremist, but will remain a peaceful believer!"

Transcript of the court session in the Kirovsky District Court of Makhachkala dated 11/18/2022 in the case 1-5/2021 (1-230/2021) on charges of Karpova Maria Viktorovna and others. of committing a crime under Parts 1 and 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Karpova Maria Viktorovna:

First of all, I want to thank you, Your Honor, for treating our religious feelings with great respect from the very beginning, trying to pronounce the name of God correctly. You also ensured that the parties were competitive without violating anyone's rights, and even made sure that we could have lunch in the dining room without queuing, announcing an early break for this.

Thanks to Secretary Chakar for helping us solve our issues, always doing it kindly and with a smile. Thank you to the prosecutor for treating us with respect. Thanks to our defenders who figured out this unusual case and provided professional assistance. And finally, a big thank you to our friends who have been by our side and supported us emotionally throughout this long process.

I would like to talk about how I was affected by what happened to me. I had to go through a lot: the invasion of my apartment by nine men, two of whom were armed with machine guns, a grueling search for 11 hours, detention, illegal detention in a pre-trial detention center and, finally, the passing of my father, whom I met in custody without the opportunity to say goodbye… But everything that happened to me did not embitter me, did not develop resentment and hatred in my heart. I want to explain what helped me.

First of all, I felt the support of our loving God. And I was also helped by the example of Jesus, who taught me how to behave when faced with injustice. When they came to arrest him illegally, a situation occurred, thanks to which he taught an important lesson. His close friend Peter, driven by a noble motive — to protect his teacher — pulled out his sword, rushed at the first person from the crowd who came after Jesus and cut off his ear. Then Jesus severely condemned him, saying the words known to many: "Put the sword in the scabbard. Whoever takes the sword will perish by the sword," and after that he healed the wounded man. Lesson: The followers of Jesus never respond with violence to violence, but defeat evil with good. This thought helped me a lot! I decided that I would be kind wherever I was and no matter what happened to me.

And even when Jesus was being led to execution, he did not curse those who did it, instead he said in prayer to God: "Forgive them, they do not understand what they are doing." Here's a sample! It helped me not to let resentment and hatred grow in my heart. It may seem that only a perfect man, who was Jesus, can preserve love and kindness in the most difficult conditions. But this is not the case.

At the time, I was impressed by the modern example of a Jehovah's Witness from France, which I read about. During World War II, a neighbor denounced her to the Gestapo. As a result, she spent two years in German concentration camps, where she almost died. After the war, the French police wanted a Jehovah's Witness to sign a document incriminating her neighbor for collaborating with the Germans. But she refused. Later, the neighbor became terminally ill with cancer. The believer spent many hours with her, trying as best she could to brighten up the last months of her life. This is a real triumph of love over hate!

Your Honor, I still don't understand why the prosecutor is asking me to be punished and what I need to become, in his opinion, after 6.5 years in a penal colony. But I know exactly what I want to stay no matter what: the way those I told you about remained!

Whatever the verdict, I will not become an extremist, but will remain a peaceful, religious person. I ask you to justify me and my friends!

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