The last word of the defendant Sergei Ermilov in Blagoveshchensk

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Sergei Ermilov in Blagoveshchensk

November 24, 2022

Amur region

From the courtroom

The believer told the court that the Bible had taught him to truly respect state authority. He noted: "Accusing me of involvement in extremist activities is either a gross error of the investigation, or a deliberate distortion of facts in order to discredit the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses."

Transcript of the court session in the Blagoveshchensk City Court of the Amur Region dated 11/24/2022 in the case 1-135/2022 (1-1408/2021) on charges of Ermilov Sergey Nikolaevich and others. of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Sergey Nikolaevich Ermilov: Your Honor, as well as those present in the courtroom, I explicitly declare: I do not admit my involvement in the commission of a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. I have never participated in extremist activities, have not shown and do not show hatred towards people of other nationalities and religions.

When I met a person of another nation who professes a different religion, I always said, "It's good to meet a believer." We talked about creeds and always came to a common opinion: There is only one God. This is stated in the Bible, in the Letter of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians, 4th chapter, 5th and 6th verses: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all of us." This quote is taken from the publication "The Bible. The Books of Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments with parallel passages and appendices" in the Synodal translation used by the Russian Orthodox Church.

In my last word, I will refer to this Bible, because from it I learned the name of God Jehovah (Exodus 15:3); I learned that God called his servants "my witnesses" (Isaiah 43:10-12); I learned why it is important to know and invoke this name: "For everyone who calls the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13).

I am accused of intentionally committing a crime against the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the state. As you know, I have been practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses for 9 years. During this period, I have been developing the right attitude towards state power, since such power is protection and necessary for peace and happiness.

This is clearly stated in the Letter to Romans, chapter 13, verses 1 and 2: "Let every soul be subject to higher authorities, for there is no authority not from God; the existing authorities are established from God. Therefore, he who opposes authority opposes God's establishment. And those who resist will bring condemnation upon themselves." Based on this, Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, do not participate in protest actions, no matter what country they live in.

Confirmation of this is recorded in the book of Ecclesiastes, 8th chapter, verses 2-4: "I say, keep the royal word, and this is for the sake of an oath before God. Do not rush away from his face, and do not persist in a bad deed; because he can do anything he wants. Where the king's word is, there is power; and who will tell him: What are you doing?"

These verses are taken from the books of the Old and New Testaments and testify to what is said in the 2nd letter of the Apostle Paul to Timothy, chapter 3, verses 16 and 17: "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. May the man of God be perfect, prepared for every good deed." That's why there are no victims or victims in my case — because I am taught by the Bible to do only good.

I, like all Jehovah's Witnesses, am a law-abiding person. [...] At our meetings, they encourage us to monitor our mindset in order to respect the highest authorities, including with regard to paying income taxes and utilities, complying with laws for private entrepreneurs and traffic rules. I'll tell you a case. It happened to one of my co-religionists. It so happened that his car insurance was overdue for only one day, and he had to go on important business. He took public transport. These are Jehovah's Witnesses, otherwise it should not be. […]

In the first epistle of the apostle John, chapter 4, verse 8, it says: "Whoever does not love has not known God, because God is love." This is not only the quality of God himself, it is his essence. We find confirmation of this in the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 48, verse 17: "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the holy One of Israel: I, the Lord, your God, who teaches you useful things, leading you along the path that you should follow." Please note that Jehovah God addresses each of us with the following words: "you", "you", "yours" and not in an order form, but with a request. Further in verse 18, God says, "Oh, if you would only hearken to My commandments! Then your world would be like a river, and your truth would be like the waves of the sea." If God does this to us, can I act differently?

I do only what Jesus Christ teaches and commands in Matthew, chapter 28, verses 19 and 20: "Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo I am with you all the days until the end of the century. Amen to that." Do you think if all nations were taught what Christ teaches, would there be military conflicts in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Syria or Ukraine? Of course not! […]

Do you know what qualities God has? The Bible tells: "And the LORD passed before him [Moses] and cried out: The Lord, the Lord, is a loving and merciful God, long-suffering and full of mercy and true, preserving mercy in thousands of generations, forgiving guilt and transgression and sin" (Exodus 34:6, 7). These are the wonderful qualities possessed by the Creator of heaven and earth. He put these qualities into us humans. This is confirmed by the words from the book of Genesis: "And God said, Let us create man in our image and in our likeness."

The prosecution did not provide any evidence that I had used violence against someone or insulted someone. I try to follow the words from the epistle of the Apostle Paul Titus, chapter 3, verses 1 and 2: "Remind them to obey and submit to superiors and authorities, to be ready for every good deed, not to slander anyone, not to be quarrelsome, but quiet, and show all gentleness to all people".

I believe that accusing me of involvement in extremist activities is either a gross mistake of the investigation, or a deliberate distortion of facts in order to discredit the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Jehovah's Witnesses are known for trying to be honest in all spheres of life and follow the advice written in the Bible as accurately as possible. Since Jehovah's Witnesses are disciples of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we follow his words recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, 5th chapter, verses 21-22: "You have heard that it was said to the ancients: Do not kill, but whoever kills is subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother in vain is subject to judgment; whoever says to his brother, "Cancer" [an empty man, footnote] is subject to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, "mad" is subject to hellfire." Can I break the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ as a believer? Of course not!

Your Honor, all the case materials that the prosecutor referred to as evidence of my guilt do not actually prove this guilt. I had no idea of committing a crime against the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the state. On the contrary, I have sought and will continue to strive to fulfill the command written in the Word of God, in the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Romans, chapter 12, verse 17: "Do not reward evil for evil to anyone, but take care of the good before all people."

I did not commit a crime, but only exercised my constitutional right to believe in Jehovah God and live in accordance with my religious beliefs. This is not an organization of the activities of an extremist organization.

I ask you to pass an acquittal against me.

Summary of the case

Region:

Amur region

Locality:

Blagoveshchensk

What is suspected:

Áccording to the investigation, he participated in the continuation of the activities of the liquidated organization by directly participating in religious events

Criminal case number:

11907100001000062

Case initiated:

October 21, 2019

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigating:

The Federal Security Service of Russia for the Amur region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)

The number of the case in court:

1-135/2022 (1-1408/2021)

Court:

Blagoveshchensk City Court of the Amur region

Judge of the Court of First instance:

Daria Varkalevich