The last word of the defendant Nadezhda Semenova in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Nadezhda Semenova in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

November 8, 2022

Kamchatka Territory

From the courtroom

"I feel not like a criminal, but a victim," the believer said in her last word, noting that the biblical principles by which she and her husband try to live encourage love and peace, not extremism.

Transcript of the court session in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Court of the Kamchatka Territory dated 11/08/2022 in the case 1-585/2022 on charges of Semenova Nadezhda Vladimirovna and Semenov Dmitry Ivanovich of committing a crime under Part 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Semenova Nadezhda Vladimirovna: Your Honor, the prosecutor is asking for a very serious punishment for me. But what crime have I committed?

I am being tried on the basis of the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated April 20, 2017. According to the court's decision, only legal entities were banned, but there was no ban on religion and faith in God. The Jehovah's Witnesses I know are honest, peace—loving, law-abiding people who are always ready to help others. These are people who love their God and show love for their neighbor. And these are not just words. I remember when my dad died suddenly many years ago, these people provided tremendous support to our family, both emotionally and financially: someone brought groceries, someone cooked food, someone was just there. And it wasn't 2-3 days, but as long as we needed! We didn't need anything, and everything was free of charge.

Now we are faced with unfair treatment of ourselves — searches, accusations of extremism, courts. All this takes a huge amount of time, as well as physical and emotional strength. But our friends are always there. They are always keenly interested in us and ready to support us. Jehovah's Witnesses are people who give, not take; they are more than friends, they are like close relatives. And I am talking now about all Jehovah's Witnesses, even those who live in other countries. They are praying for us. They sent us expensive vitamins. Is free.

I would like to point out that I did not need any local religious organizations in order to study the Bible. I confirmed my relationship with God when I was baptized in water as a Christian. To do this, I also did not need to be a member of any legal entities. And believing in God does not mean being silent. Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation gives me the right to spread my religious beliefs and act in accordance with them.

Your Honor, is it illegal to help people change for the better, to give up bad habits such as smoking, drunkenness, drugs, theft, swearing and so on? But many people, thanks to the study of the Bible, got rid of such cases. I am grateful to Jehovah, my God, that I learned about him as a child and did not have to face the consequences of bad habits. What's wrong with helping people be happy, helping them find firm hope for a future free of disease, crime, deception, and even death?

My husband and I, sparing no time and effort, sometimes even late at night, tired, after work, discussed the Bible with Elena Ivanovna Turova. She asked for it very much; she liked to communicate with us (which she talked about during the interrogation). I discussed the Bible with her at her request. All the presented videos show that Elena Ivanovna is smiling, asking questions and is interested in the topics being discussed. And this is quite understandable, because we did not discuss anything bad or illegal.

Although the Bible was written almost 2,000 years ago, its advice is still valuable and relevant. The Bible is a book that teaches love, goodness and peace. It says, "As far as possible on your part, be at peace with all people" (Romans 12:18). Being a peacemaker means more than just being peaceful and calm, it means actively promoting peace and sometimes even establishing peace where there was none before; literally, "creating peace" is peace, not evil, violence and unrest. This is the opposite of enmity with someone or hatred.

The Bible is a book that I live in accordance with, and the advice and principles of which I discussed with Elena Ivanovna. The Bible can change a person for the better and help him avoid many problems and disappointments in life. And all because its author is the Creator of man, God Jehovah, and the main quality of his personality is love!

Dear court, if you were in Elena Ivanovna's place and my letter would fall into your hands, the letter that is in the case file. There is very little text in it, but it contains a biblical verse from the Gospel of Matthew 7:12, encouraging us to do to others as we would like them to do to us. Reading it, would you think that such a letter could have been written by an extremist or a person who hates other people?

Your Honor, I ask you not to allow injustice. Think about what kind of extremist I am? What do I or my spouse have in common with criminals? Extremists promote violence, incite mass riots, and hooligan actions. And what do I do? My example is Jesus Christ. He spared no time and effort for others. In the Acts of the Holy Apostles, chapter 20, verse 35, his words are recorded: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." In other words, we experience greater happiness when we do something for others. Jesus did not only take care of people's physical needs. The most important thing in his life was to teach people to live by God's principles, the principles of love. Their happiness depended on it. Therefore, the main thing that Jesus did was to preach about the Kingdom of God, through which his Father, Jehovah, would fulfill all the promises written in the Bible about a wonderful future. Jesus encouraged us to love people, act kindly towards others, and be merciful. And I strive to imitate him.

You know, Your Honor, I don't feel like a criminal, I feel like a victim. For example, during the search, my personal diaries of my childhood and youth were seized from me, which even my closest people did not read. And the diaries were seized only to prove that I am a believer, that I am a Jehovah's Witness. And I don't deny it, on the contrary, I'm proud of it! Due to the fact that I have been reading the Bible since childhood and trying to live in accordance with its principles and laws, I have a clear conscience and good relations with others. Wherever I worked, my decency, honesty and integrity were always appreciated. In addition, if I have the opportunity, I am always happy to participate in clean-up days, in cleaning the city in which I live.

I like to help not only people, I like to take care of animals. I have helped many stray cats and dogs find their loving owners. And now we are taking care of six animals, most of which have unfortunate fates, for which there was no queue of those who wanted to take them for themselves. They don't cost a lot of money like some purebred ones, but they want to live too. And if we are not released by court order, then there will be no one to take care of them, feed them.

At the end of my words, I would like to express my gratitude to you, Your Honor, for listening carefully to us during the trial and always giving us the opportunity to speak out. Thank you. I am very grateful to all our lawyers. Including Ekaterina Kuzminichna, who, in addition to her main work, just supported me with kind words in a human way. Also, thanks to all our listeners, friends, for coming to the courtroom, putting aside some personal matters to support us, hug us and just be there.

Your Honor, I know that you are a judge with a lot of experience and in your practice you have seen a lot of real criminals. The Bible, according to which my husband and I live, calls us not to extremism, but to peace. I really hope for your insight in making a decision on our case, and I ask you to acquit me and my husband.

Summary of the case

Region:

Kamchatka Territory

Locality:

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

Criminal case number:

12102300002000148

Case initiated:

September 3, 2021

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigating:

SU IC of the Russian Federation in the Kamchatka Territory

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1.1)

Case number in court:

1-585/2022

Court of First Instance:

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Court of the Kamchatka Territory

Judge of the Court of First instance:

Vladimir Bykov