The last word of the defendant Tatiana Zhuk in Khabarovsk

 RUSSIA 

 

The last word of the defendant Tatiana Zhuk in Khabarovsk

June 20, 2024

Khabarovsk Territory

Tatiana Zhuk shared the bitter feelings that false accusations of extremism arouse in her, and added: "Forbidding me to meet with my co—religionists and talk about our Creator is like forbidding me to breathe."

Transcript of the court session in the Industrial District Court of Khabarovsk dated 06/20/2024 in the case 1-6/2024 on charges of Tatyana Valentinovna Zhuk and others. of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Zhuk Tatyana Valentinovna:

In my last word, I will tell you a little about myself, about my life principles and how I feel about the criminal prosecution that I had to face. I really hope that this will help you see, Your Honor, the absurdity of the accusation against me.

I once read the words of Jean Moliere, who said: "Anyone who wants to accuse should not be in a hurry." In our trial, the prosecution took a few minutes to present all the evidence that, from their point of view, confirms my guilt and request a term that is given for a serious crime. Do I deserve such punishment?

I will start with the events that took place on November 10, 2018. That day, my husband, my eldest daughter and I were at the mall. We were preparing for the wedding of our youngest daughter, which was to take place in 3 weeks. At that moment, a call rang on my husband's phone, and he was told that now the door in our house would be broken into to carry out a search. We went straight home. When we arrived at the house, my husband was not even allowed to enter the apartment, he was taken away in an unknown direction, and I was left alone surrounded by six men. Then events began to happen that for me were like a sudden hurricane: a search, an arrest, an Investigative Committee, an interrogation until 12 o'clock at night. Then they took my recognizance not to leave and let me go. And the investigator didn't care how I would get home at night across the city without having a phone and change in my wallet. It seemed that this nightmare would never end. And it all started with a lie — we were accused of extremism. It just didn't fit in my head!

In the last few years, my family, my friends and I have heard the word "extremist" addressed to us many times by representatives of the authorities. How did I react to this? I will not hide it, these five and a half years of criminal prosecution have greatly exhausted me and my family. The false accusation of extremism was a strong blow to me. But there is something that gives me strength and helps me cope with the situation we find ourselves in.

First of all, I know for sure that my husband Vitaly and I did not commit any illegal actions. I have a clear conscience. I'm not an extremist.

Secondly, I remember Jesus Christ's warning well. He said: "Remember the word that I told you: a slave is no greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my word, they will keep yours" (John 15:20). I try not to forget these words. It is a great honor for me that today I can prove my devotion to God, despite such monstrous accusations.

But Jesus not only warned that those who follow him will be persecuted, but also assured that they will fully feel the love of their co-religionists. Indeed, during this difficult time, our family fully felt what Jesus said in John 13:35: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves." I am very grateful to our friends — and those whom we know intimately, and whom we did not know at all before — that they did not stand aside and supported us. This gave us the courage and confidence that being a Jehovah's Witness means being part of one big family.

I really want the court to assess the situation correctly and understand that being a Jehovah's Witness is not a crime. I have asked myself many times, "why?" Why are law enforcement agencies persecuting Jehovah's Witnesses? For reading the Bible? Or because we sing songs about God? Or for allowing ourselves to pray to our Creator Jehovah? Why did the name Jehovah, which is written in the Bible, including in the Synodal translation approved by the Orthodox Church, become a reason for accusations of extremism?

When our house was searched, literature and records containing the name of God were seized. This was especially evident when my mother-in-law's room was searched. There was a lot of religious literature, but the name of Jehovah was not found in it. The investigator leafed through these books for a long time, he saw that they were religious literature, but it was important for him to find the name of God. And when I said that my mother professes a different religion, he discontentedly threw the book away with the words: "We are not interested in this," and did not search this room any further. The words and actions of the investigator clearly showed what we are being persecuted for — in the name of God!

And I thought: "Is it my fault that God's name is Jehovah?" The creator of the universe called himself by that name. For example, in the Biblical book of Exodus, chapter 15, verse 3, it says: "The Lord is a man of war, Jehovah is his name." In the Gospel of John, chapter 12, verse 28, Jesus Christ's prayer to his Father is recorded, where he asks God to glorify his name. I quote: "Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified and I will glorify again." God wants his name to be glorified. And I also want to praise the name of Almighty God. And how can you do this if you don't pronounce it?

The name of Jehovah God is found in letters and works of Russian writers, poets, and composers: F. N. Glinka, I. A. Goncharov, F. M. Dostoevsky, N. M. Karamzin, A. I. Kuprin, V. V. Mayakovsky, M. P. Mussorgsky, A. S. Pushkin, S. A. Yesenin, L. N. Tolstoy. Athanasius Fet and Marina Tsvetaeva also used the name of God in their works. Here are the lines from Tsvetaeva's poem "Daniel": "And, turning away His hot gaze somewhere, He talks about the poor widow… It turns out that the works of these respected, famous people should be included in the FSEM, because there is the name of God — Jehovah, and the authors themselves should be accused of extremism? Judging by the actions of the investigative authorities, this is exactly how it should happen.

When the followers of Jesus were being tried in the first century, one of the respected judges, Gamaliel, stood up and said, "Step away from these people and leave them alone. For if this enterprise and this business are from people, then it will fail. If it is from God, then you will not be able to stop them, and it may happen that you will fight against God" (Acts 5:38, 39). Can a person fight with God, the Creator of the entire universe?

Your Honor, I ask you to look into everything carefully. Is it really a crime to talk about Jehovah? Or is it a crime to persecute a person just for talking about the name of God?

Although from a human point of view, I do not understand why we are being persecuted, but the Bible clearly indicates the reason. Jesus said, "The world hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (John 17:14). Here Jesus explained why Christians would be hated. He said his students would be "not of the world." This means that those who want to imitate Jesus Christ will be very different from other people in their actions, speech, and even thoughts. And it will make someone angry.

For example, we do not interfere in politics and wars. No Jehovah's Witness will ever take up arms and kill another person. It's better for us to die ourselves than to kill. This is how the people of Jehovah's God act all over the world. This was clearly seen when, during the Second World War, Jehovah's Witnesses, both from Germany and from the Soviet Union, refused to take up arms and go out to kill, despite the fact that they were threatened with the death penalty for this. Now, decades after this terrible war, people continue to reproach each other, trying to prove who is right and who is to blame. But there is no disagreement among Jehovah's Witnesses, we have nothing to reproach each other with. During the Second World War, 50 million people died, and most of them were civilians. But it is safe to say that none of them died at the hands of Jehovah's Witnesses. I'm proud of it. Our brothers, who lived at that time, did not kill. And if all people on earth had followed this example, wars would have stopped long ago and there would not have been so many ruined lives. The world would be completely different! But now it is what it is — chaos reigns in it. Therefore, it is important to adhere to the words of Jesus Christ "to be not of the world."

Unfortunately, today everything has turned upside down. Success is determined by the thickness of the wallet, there are no clear standards of morality. And I don't want to just go with the flow — I've lived this way before, and such a life has not brought me any satisfaction. But when I began to live the way the Bible teaches, I noticed that not everyone likes it. Someone does not understand that for us spiritual values are more important than material ones, and someone is even annoyed by our honesty and decency.

Of course, I am not an ideal person and I need to work on myself, but I try to improve my qualities in order to please God, my loved ones and be a worthy citizen of my country. The Bible has taught me to respect people regardless of their race, nationality, social status, outlook on life, as well as to treat those with authority with respect. I want to keep good relations with all people, but it is impossible to please everyone. Therefore, the most important thing for me is to get God's approval, because He is the source of life and my future is in his hands.

The truths I learned from the Bible filled my life with meaning, helped me avoid many mistakes and even correct some past mistakes. I have a very good husband. We have two wonderful daughters. I am a truly happy person! We adhere to high moral standards and have taught our daughters this. The results of such training were not long in coming: if someone tried to convince them that living by high moral standards was no longer fashionable, they did not listen to such an adviser and, following the norms of God, saved themselves from many problems. We have tried to raise our daughters to be honest, decent members of society. And now they call us extremists! Even in my worst dreams, I could not imagine that I would be tried, accused of such a terrible crime.

How has it affected my life? To say that my life has turned upside down is to say nothing. It's hard to see how worried and crying my mom is because we faced persecution. These experiences have greatly undermined her health. Instead of spending evenings in pleasant communication with my family, I study the criminal case, write testimony, petitions. My dear husband is doing the same.

In the Bible, the Christian's path is compared to running for life. What if it's an obstacle course? The athlete still continues to run, because he has a goal to run and win. I also have a goal: I want to remain faithful to God to the end, no matter what obstacles. I firmly keep in mind the words of Jesus Christ, said to his followers: "In the world you will have tribulation, but be brave! I have conquered the world." Jesus said that he had won, although in the eyes of the people around him he did not look like a winner when he was beaten, exhausted, hanging from a pole. Then what kind of victory was it about? He defeated the world in the sense that he did not allow himself to be remade, did not allow the world to shape itself to become like everyone else. He remained faithful to God, but at the same time did not hold a grudge against his persecutors. On the contrary, Jesus, being already crucified, prayed: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

And I don't hold a grudge against anyone either. When my husband Vitaly was released from jail, he also did not say a single bad word about the investigators, the guards in prison, or the judges. We understand that everyone is doing their job. Jesus taught his followers to obey and respect authority not only in words, but also in deeds. But at the same time, none of the people has the right to forbid doing what the Creator requires. In the book of Acts, chapter 5, verse 29, the words of the apostle Peter are recorded: "We must obey God more than men."

I became a Jehovah's Witness 30 years ago. And there hasn't been a day that I've regretted it. I am grateful to our authorities that from the moment I got acquainted with the Bible, I was able to freely profess my religious views. No one considered us to be extremists. No one forbade us to gather together and talk about God. And now forbidding me to meet with my co—religionists and talk about our Creator is like forbidding me to breathe.

I hope, Your Honor, that you will figure out what is happening now. I have heard this expression more than once: "The court will sort everything out." Now these words are more relevant to me than ever. I really hope that you will make a fair decision and we will be able, as before, to worship peacefully the Creator of the universe — the God Jehovah.

Our views, actions, and our attitude towards government officials and other people remain the same. Only the attitude of the authorities towards us, Jehovah's Witnesses, is changing. We are sometimes banned, then given the opportunity to worship God freely, then banned again. In modern terms, we are either trending or not. But this is not a fashion for clothes or hairstyle, these are human lives. Moreover, how can you forbid loving God?

The knowledge that the Bible gives cannot become outdated, it cannot harm. This knowledge is only useful, it makes people better and gives comfort and hope. Studying the Bible, I learned that God will soon restore order to the earth. Crime will be finished, prisons, iron doors, bars on windows will no longer be needed. There will be no need to worry about your children that someone might harm them. God also promises to end disease and death once and for all. The Bible says: "Death will be swallowed up forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and take away the reproach from his people throughout all the earth" (Isaiah 25:8).

Of course, I did not immediately believe that such a thing was possible. And then it would hardly be possible to call it faith. I have been looking for an answer to the question for more than a year: is it possible to believe this? And I became convinced that the Bible is the book that can be trusted, that its author is God. Now my faith has a solid foundation, and no one can destroy it.

I got answers to people's most exciting questions from the Bible. What is the meaning of life? Why is there so much evil in the world? Will there be an end to suffering? What happens when a person dies? Why does a person die? Scientists have proved that our body is designed in such a way that we should not die, because the cells of the body are constantly being updated, but they do not understand why suddenly at a certain moment these cells stop updating and we age, and then die. Scientists are looking for ways to prolong life, but there is no result. And the Bible gives a simple answer to this question, in the Epistle to the Romans, the 5th chapter, the 12th verse, it says: "Therefore, as sin entered the world by one man, and death by sin, so death passed on to all men, because in him all sinned." The answer is clear: the first man, Adam, inherited sin, and death is the reckoning for sin. But the day will come soon when a just God will solve this problem, he will eliminate sin, and people will no longer die.

Isn't that what every person dreams of? But these are not just pipe dreams. These are the promises of God himself, who never deceives. Hundreds of prophecies recorded in the Bible have already come true, and some of them are coming true today. And I have no doubt that the remaining ones, which relate to the future, will also be fulfilled. There will be a Paradise on earth! God Jehovah wants to give people such a life. But he has the right to expect some actions from us, for example, so that we acquire knowledge from the Bible about him and his son Jesus Christ, live in accordance with biblical principles and share the knowledge we have gained with other people.

Jesus said to his disciples, "Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). The words "go and teach" are not just a wish of Jesus, but his demand, which every Christian must fulfill. If, after studying to be a doctor, I took the Hippocratic oath, and then refused to treat people, it would be a crime. It is also a crime for me not to obey the command of the Son of God to "go preach".

Your Honor, is it a crime that I share with people the news that gives hope for the future? Whether to believe it or not, everyone has the right to decide for themselves. But in order to solve something, you need to find out first. And I hope that the country in which I live has the right to freedom of speech and freedom of choice.

Your Honor, in conclusion, I want to thank you for listening to us. Although, perhaps, it was not quite easy due to the fact that it concerned religious issues. Also, thank you for the fact that, until I bought a hearing aid, you allowed me to choose a convenient place so that I could hear all the participants in the process. Thank you for trying to create a comfortable environment for us when we testified. It helped me to cope with the excitement.

I also thank the lawyers for helping us in this trial. And once again I want to thank everyone who supported us. Thanks to my beloved husband Vitaly. I have always felt your support, even when you were in jail. Thank you for the example of perseverance and for your sense of humor. I also want to thank my friends: Nikolai, Stas, Maya and Svetlana. Your example of loyalty has been very encouraging to me all this time.

Your Honor, I ask you to carefully, without bias, look into everything and make a fair decision. Please excuse me.

Thanks for attention.

Summary of the case

Region:

Khabarovsk Territory

Locality:

Khabarovsk

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, they organized the activities of a religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in the territory of Khabarovsk (with reference to the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the liquidation of all 396 registered organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses)

Criminal case number:

11802080002000049

Case initiated:

November 10, 2018

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has not entered into force

Investigating:

From the SU IC of Russia in the Khabarovsk Territory

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2), 282.2 (1)

The number of the case in court:

1-6/2024 (1-15/2023; 1-216/2022; 1-1031/2021)

The Court:

Industrial District Court of Khabarovsk

Judge:

Roman Chiskovsky