The last word of the defendant Anatoly Lee in Yaroslavsky

 RUSSIA 

 

The last word of the defendant Anatoly Lee in Yaroslavsky

July 9, 2024

Primorsky Krai

Speaking in court, the believer said: "The religion of Jehovah's Witnesses or the worship of Jehovah God is not prohibited. This is my right, guaranteed by the Constitution, and this right belongs to me from birth. I had it both before and after 2017."

Transcript of the court session in the Khorolsky District Court of Primorsky Krai dated 07/09/2024 in the case 1-8/2024 on the charges of Anatoly Yurievich Lee and others. of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Anatoly Yurievich Lee:

Your Honor! It is clear that I am being persecuted for my faith in Jehovah God. After all, if since 2017 I had been singing songs about God with my friends in the same way, discussing the Bible, but had become, for example, Orthodox or Protestant, would I have ended up in the dock? No.

But someone, listening to me now, may have mentally objected to me: "Now, if a religious organization, for example, of the Orthodox, were liquidated for extremism, then you would also end up in the dock." But the fact is that the organization (legal entity) was liquidated and extremist activity was prohibited, not the profession of faith. The religion of Jehovah's Witnesses or the worship of Jehovah God is not prohibited. This is my right, guaranteed by the Constitution, and this right belongs to me from birth. I had it both before and after 2017. And all my actions by themselves did not contain any signs of extremism. I only performed divine services, as is customary all over the world in the denomination of Jehovah's Witnesses. Which means I'm being persecuted for worshipping Jehovah.

However, this is not surprising, because Jesus himself and his apostles suffered for their loyalty to God. The biblical prophecy from 2 Timothy 3:12 reads: "All followers of Christ Jesus who want to faithfully serve God will be persecuted." This prophecy is being fulfilled now and here.

The Constitution grants everyone the right to choose their religious beliefs. And I chose not membership in any organization, but the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Therefore, in my last word, I decided to tell you why I became a Jehovah's Witness.

Although I was born into an atheist family, my mother always taught me in word and deed to be hardworking, honest, fair, treat everyone with an open mind and help others, be a useful member of society. As a teenager, I started thinking about the meaning of life. And why these efforts? If there is no God, then we humans are just a whim of chance, spontaneously combined amino acids. If in the end everyone is going to die without any hope, then does the rich have an advantage over the poor, the wise over the stupid, the honest over the liar? After all, everyone in the cemetery is the same. This question tormented me until one day I was asked to study the Bible.

I was skeptical and agreed only out of academic interest.  But what I learned from the Bible surprised me greatly and changed my life. For example, I learned that true faith is based on evidence, not credulity. That's why many scientists believe in God. Hebrews 11:1 says that "faith is a clear proof of the existence of that which is invisible." If you meet a hut in the forest, will you decide that it appeared there as a result of an accidental fall of trees without the help of a builder? The house itself implies the presence of a builder, even if we have never seen him. This is an indisputable truth. And isn't our common home, planet Earth, more complicated than any hut? Doesn't this mean that the Earth also has a builder? So the Bible says, "Every house has a builder, and the one who built everything is God" (Hebrews 3:4).

I used to hear that the Bible cannot be trusted, because "it has been rewritten many times for itself." Therefore, I decided to look into this issue. Museums provide photocopies of ancient manuscripts with footnotes, from which Bible translations are made, some of them more than 2000 years old. Comparing these ancient manuscripts with the modern Bible, I was convinced that the Bible has not changed over the millennia. Which means she can be trusted.

It struck me that in ancient times, when scientific knowledge practically did not exist, and before many scientific discoveries there were still centuries and even millennia, even then the Bible claimed that the Earth was shaped like a ball (Isaiah 40:22) and had no visible support (Job 26:7). The Bible describes the cycle of water in nature with scientific accuracy (Ecclesiastes 1:7). It contains the principles of hygiene and medical quarantine (Leviticus 13:33, 14:8, 9) and even information about human DNA (Psalm 138:14-16). And this is not the whole list of scientifically accurate information confirming that the Bible can be trusted. Moreover, the information listed in the Scriptures, which were later collected in a collection now known as the Bible, were recorded 2000-3500 years ago. But at that time, people had completely different ideas about these issues. Does this not clearly prove that the author of the Bible is Jehovah, who appears to readers as the Creator, Almighty God, the Lord of the Universe, the Father of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father? Therefore, I have every reason to trust what is written in the Bible.

But, most importantly, I realized that life has meaning, and there is a point in being an honest, decent person, helping people around. Jehovah promises to bring order to the earth on the appointed day, to eliminate all evil, injustice, and crime. Then all people will live in peace with each other, and there will not even be death. If the Bible is scientifically accurate, if it contains practical advice that can be used to lead a meaningful, happy life, then I have good reason to be completely confident that these biblical promises about the future of the earth will be fulfilled.

Therefore, God wants me to reject any evil right now and show love, kindness and care to everyone. For example, my wife and I like to spend time on Lake Khanka. After that, we take out not only our own garbage, but also someone else's, so that people can have a pleasant rest after us. It happened that other vacationers began to help us. If I see a bottle or wrapper on the sidewalk, I will definitely pick them up and take them to the trash can so that my city is clean. I have good relations with my neighbors, a loving wife, with whom we have been happy together for 13 years, and a job that I like. I don't get drunk, I don't do drugs. And all this is due to the influence of the Bible on my life. Is there anything extremist in this? No. Loving people is incompatible with inciting hostility and hatred, which I am accused of.

Your Honor, during the criminal prosecution, my friends, my loving wife and our relatives have tasted a lot of grief. Therefore, I ask you not just to demonstrate your professional qualities and delve into this matter, but to connect your conscience and show mercy and compassion. I disagree with the prosecution and ask for an acquittal.

Summary of the case

Region:

Primorsky Krai

Locality:

Yaroslavsky

Criminal case number:

12202050023000021

Case initiated:

October 3, 2022

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has not entered into force

Investigating:

SU IC of the Russian Federation in Primorsky Krai

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1), 282.2 (2)

Case number in court:

1-8/2024 (1-183/2023)

Court of First Instance:

Khorolsky District Court of Primorsky Krai

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Tatiana Pogorelaya