The last word of the defendant Galina Komissarova in Tolyatti

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Galina Komissarova in Tolyatti

July 8, 2024

Samara region

Addressing the court with the last word, the believer stressed: "All my actions, which the prosecution presents as participation in the activities of an extremist organization, are the realization of my right to freedom of religion, do not contain signs of extremism and are not a crime."

Transcript of the court session in the Central District Court of Tolyatti dated 07/08/2024 in the case 1-90/2024 (1-662/2023) on charges of Komissarova Galina Alexandrovna of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Komissarova Galina Alexandrovna:

I want to start my last word with words of gratitude. Your Honor, I am grateful to you for the patience you have shown me during the court hearings. I often couldn't refrain from commenting, I didn't always ask the right questions, and you had to either remove them or suggest reformulating them. And each time you calmly and patiently reminded me how to do the right thing, what is the procedure for conducting a trial. Your calm, even tone of voice helped me not to worry too much. I also want to thank you for allowing my friends to attend the meetings. The fact that they were here with me gave me strength. And I especially want to thank and even praise you for correctly pronouncing the name of our Creator, Jehovah.

I am also grateful to the secretary Olesya Andreevna. Olesya Andreevna, when I turned to you with questions or for clarification, you were always friendly, attentive and tactful. Thank you.

I want to thank my lawyer, Anatoly Alexandrovich. You treated me with understanding and patience, gave me good advice and guided me.

I am grateful to my daughter, who was very worried about me, but tried not to show it to me, gave me various gifts and surprises, so cute and funny, and always tried to be with me. And my son, although he is very far away now, was also worried about me, he often wrote to me or called me to make sure that I was doing well. And it also helped me to hold on. My children comforted and pleased me as much as they could. It is not for nothing that they are written about in the Bible: "This is the inheritance from the Lord: children; His reward is the fruit of the womb" (Psalm 126:3)

And, of course, I am very grateful to my friends who worried about me, supported me with their presence, kind words, assurances of love and prayers. During the whole trial, I became even more convinced that I was among those about whom Jesus Christ said: "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). I think this love was visible to everyone.

Kindness and love are the opposite of extremism, of which I am accused, and therefore, in my last word, I want to tell you about the love that our Creator, the Creator of the entire vast Universe, Jehovah God, showed to people — to everyone and to everyone individually — and how this love has affected my life.

Once my close friend, a co-believer, told me that her housemates asked her: "Well, do you still go to your "section"?", reinterpreting the word "sect" in her own way, which is often called Jehovah's Witnesses with disdain. And I thought: "It's like if they asked, 'Well, do you still love your father?'" Agree, a loving child will never say: "I've loved my father for quite a long time, so that's enough, you can stop."

While studying the Bible, I learned a lot about my heavenly Father Jehovah God, about his wonderful qualities such as love, wisdom, strength, justice and many others. In the Bible, God shared his thoughts and feelings with people, told them about his plan and how much and tenderly he loves people. And I fell in love with him in return, too, and I can't stop loving him. What touched my heart so much?

For example, I like to reread the first chapters of Genesis. They tell how God worked to create the earth. In the beginning, the earth was "formless and empty" (Genesis 1:2). But Jehovah did not settle people on such a land. He made sure that various beautiful and useful plants grew on it; that the waters, earth and air were filled with various and numerous fish, animals, birds; that the sun shone during the day, and at night the moon and many stars. Thinking about this, I would like to repeat after the Psalmist: "How many are Your works, Lord! You have done everything wisely; the earth is full of Your works" (Psalm 103:24). And God, looking at the work of his hands, "saw that it was good" (Genesis 1:25).

But in the midst of all this beauty, Jehovah God created an even more beautiful place: "And the Lord God planted paradise in Eden in the east, and placed there the man whom He created." The name "Eden" comes from the Hebrew word for "pleasure." It turns out that God not only gave us life, but also wanted life to bring us joy and pleasure. He gave people the land to own, instructed them to take care of animals, to be fruitful and multiply, and to fill the whole earth (Genesis 1:28), as well as to cultivate the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:16). According to God's intention, the whole earth should be inhabited by people and become beautiful, like a garden of eden. Agree, God's plan for the earth is simply magnificent!

Jehovah endowed the first people with a valuable gift — a perfect life. What did it mean for them? With a perfect body and a perfect mind, they could always stay young and healthy and never die. They had a close, warm relationship with Jehovah God, and they communicated closely with him. The Bible says that Adam was "the son of God" (Luke 3:38). What strong bonds they shared! Jehovah was a loving Father to Adam. He talked to him, assigned him interesting tasks and mentored him, explaining what he expected from him.

Was death part of God's plan? This can be learned from the words that Jehovah said to the first man: "You will eat from every tree in the garden, but you will not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day that you eat from it, you will die" (Genesis 2:16, 17).

When we tell our child, "Don't run a red light, or a car will hit you," we thereby forbid him to do this, because we don't want him to be hit by a car. Similarly, God, having forbidden people to eat fruits from a certain tree, did not want them to die.

Some people think, "Why did you need to plant this tree at all? If he hadn't been there, there wouldn't have been any problems." The fact is that we humans, unlike animals, are not created in such a way that we are controlled only by instincts. Jehovah has given us reason and free will so that we can learn to distinguish good from evil and make our own conscious decisions. He wanted people to get to know him well, to love and obey him, not out of fear of punishment, but out of respect and love.

When God created people, He wanted them to live forever, that is, indefinitely. But in order for peace and harmony not to be violated, it was necessary to recognize that God, as the Creator, has the right to establish norms and laws, to decide what is good and what is evil. And just the tree of knowledge of good and evil was a symbol of the power of God, for example, as the scepter and the orb are symbols of royal power. And without touching the fruits from this tree, Adam and Eve could show their love for the Creator, as well as show that they recognize and respect his authority.

What happened next, I'm sure you know: the fallen angel, called the Devil and Satan, using the serpent, prompted the first woman Eve to break the commandment given by God: "And the wife saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes and coveted, because it gives knowledge; and she took its fruits and she ate; and she also gave to her husband, and he ate" (Genesis 3:6). By encroaching on the symbols of Jehovah's authority, the first people thereby showed that they reject the authority of God and want to decide for themselves what is good and what is evil. Thus, having rebelled against God, our forefathers Adam and Eve embarked on the path leading to death. They paid dearly for their disobedience: becoming sinful, they lost perfection, so they began to get sick, grow old and eventually died.

Some people think, "Why did you need to plant this tree at all? If he hadn't been there, there wouldn't have been any problems." The fact is that we humans, unlike animals, are not created in such a way that we are controlled only by instincts. Jehovah has given us reason and free will so that we can learn to distinguish good from evil and make our own conscious decisions. He wanted people to get to know him well, to love and obey him, not out of fear of punishment, but out of respect and love.

When God created people, He wanted them to live forever, that is, indefinitely. But in order for peace and harmony not to be violated, it was necessary to recognize that God, as the Creator, has the right to establish norms and laws, to decide what is good and what is evil. And just the tree of knowledge of good and evil was a symbol of the power of God, for example, as the scepter and the orb are symbols of royal power. And without touching the fruits from this tree, Adam and Eve could show their love for the Creator, as well as show that they recognize and respect his authority.

What happened next, I'm sure you know: the fallen angel, called the Devil and Satan, using the serpent, prompted the first woman Eve to break the commandment given by God: "And the wife saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes and coveted, because it gives knowledge; and she took its fruits and she ate; and she also gave to her husband, and he ate" (Genesis 3:6). By encroaching on the symbols of Jehovah's authority, the first people thereby showed that they reject the authority of God and want to decide for themselves what is good and what is evil. Thus, having rebelled against God, our forefathers Adam and Eve embarked on the path leading to death. They paid dearly for their disobedience: becoming sinful, they lost perfection, so they began to get sick, grow old and eventually died.

Unfortunately, the gift of a perfect life was lost not only for Adam and Eve, but also for all their descendants. The Bible explains it this way: "... as sin entered the world by one man, and death by sin, so death passed on to all men, because in him all sinned" (Romans 5:12). Note that it says here "sin entered the world, and death is sin." It was after sinning or disobeying God that death entered the world and passed on to all descendants. By their act, Adam and Eve, figuratively speaking, sold us all into slavery to sin and death. And no one can get rid of this slavery. As it is written, "The living know that they will die" (Ecclesiastes 9:5). This can be compared to a person trapped in a very deep pit with vertical smooth walls: no matter how you try to climb them, you will always fall down. And there is no hope.

But God found a way out. He took care of saving people by providing a ransom that could free everyone from the bondage of sin and death and return what people had lost — a perfect human life. Since a perfect life was lost, no imperfect person could compensate for this damage: "None of them can redeem their brother, they cannot give God a ransom for him. (The ransom price for a person's life is so high that they will never be able to pay it)" (Psalm 49:7, 8). The Biblical principle of perfect justice says: "A soul for a soul" (Deuteronomy 19:21). Therefore, a ransom was required, equivalent to what was lost. And only the perfect life of another person could become such an appropriate ransom. But there were no perfect people on earth.

And then, for the sake of us humans, Jehovah God made a huge sacrifice: he sent one of his perfect spiritual sons to earth. But it wasn't just an angel. This was the one God treasured the most—his only begotten Son. This son loved people very much and willingly gave up life in heaven. Jehovah performed a miracle with the help of the holy Spirit: he transferred the life of his son, who was later named Jesus, into the womb of Mary, and he was born a perfect man and did not inherit sin and death.

Since Adam lost a perfect life, he could only pass on sin and death to his descendants. But Jesus, called in the Bible "the last Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45), had a perfect life. You could say that Jesus replaced Adam. By sacrificing his perfect life and remaining faithful to God until death, Jesus paid for sin and thereby gave Adam's descendants hope.

This is recorded in the Gospel of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." This Scripture is even called the "Gospel in Miniature" because one verse explains who sent Jesus to earth, from what motives and for what.

Why was this an extraordinary display of love? Because it cost both Jesus and his Father Jehovah God dearly. Jesus, as a perfect man who had no sin, could live indefinitely and not die. But in order for his life to become a ransom for people, he had to lose it.

You probably know what Jesus had to experience before he died: he was mocked, spat in his face, scourged, nailed to a pillar of torment and left to die in terrible agony. Why did Jesus have to suffer so much?

The answer can be found in the biblical book of Job. From it we learn that Satan challenged Jehovah, saying that his servants on earth would not remain faithful in trials. He said: "Skin for skin, but a man will give all that he has for his life" (Job 2:4). By using the word "man" rather than a name, Satan has questioned the motives of each of us. He basically says, "A man will do anything to save his life. Give me the opportunity, and I will take anyone away from God."

Have you probably heard the expression "skin man"? This is a person who cares primarily about his own benefit, about his personal interests to the detriment of the interests of others; one can say, walking over the heads of other people, and for the sake of his well-being, ready to trample his conscience and harm others. In fact, Satan claims that each of us — both you and I — will do the same in difficult circumstances.

Therefore, after suffering the most severe suffering and remaining faithful, Jesus gave the most convincing answer to the challenge posed by Satan. He proved that a perfect person with free will can remain faithful to God.

Of course, it was very difficult for Jehovah, it was simply unbearable to look at the torments of his son. It is written in the Gospels that during the execution in the middle of the day, darkness fell over the whole earth, the curtain in the sanctuary of the temple was torn in two and an earthquake occurred (Matthew 27:45, 51). All this speaks to the intense feelings of pain and suffering that Jehovah was experiencing at that moment.

Agree that when our children suffer, each of us thinks: "It would be better if this were happening to me." But a God with immortality could not die himself. But he loves people very much and that's why he took this painful step for us. We can say that he threw a rope into that deep pit with vertical smooth walls, into which our ancestors pushed us — into the slavery of sin and death. The rope is the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, which gave us hope. But if we are sitting in such a pit and a rope is thrown to us, does this mean that we are saved? No. Even if we put our hand on the rope, we will still remain in the pit. To escape, you need to climb up this rope, exerting all your strength.

The Bible says: "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). And again: "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). Shortly before his death, Jesus Christ said in prayer to his Father: "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3). From these words, it can be seen that in order for the ransom paid by Jesus to be applied to a person, a person must gain knowledge about two personalities: The father of Jesus, the true God, whose name is Jehovah, and about Jesus himself. To find out their qualities, the will of God, his plan and what role Jesus plays in the fulfillment of God's plan.

I realized that Jesus, although He did not deserve to die at all, went to such torments for me so that I could live forever. And not a decrepit old woman, but just as God intended: young, healthy, full of strength. On earth, where no one will harm people anymore. Where everyone will learn love from Jehovah, our heavenly Father, and live as one friendly family! I'd like to sing about it. But I'm very worried, so I'll read it:

Imagine yourself, imagine me,

Imagine all of us in a new world, imagine!

Oh, how easy and good it is!

After all, everything bad, like a dream, has passed.

Now no one scares us,

God will establish His rule.

Now, the time has come for a new land!

And the song of praise sounds solemnly.

Imagine yourself, imagine me.

Imagine how the earth was suddenly renewed.

There are no alarms here. There is peace in the soul.

God has spread a tent over people.

He wiped the tears from our faces,

All his promises have come true.

It will awaken your loved ones from their mortal sleep,

Then the voices will merge in a friendly chorus:

"Jehovah is our God, the Creator of the earth,

Through his Son, He created everything new.

Our hearts encourage us to sing enthusiastically,

Give glory, reverence and honor to God!"

And I thought, "If I continue to live as I have lived, it's like I neglected this sacrifice, and that Jesus died in vain for me." I did not want this to happen, so I tried not only to find out what is written in the Bible, but also to apply the knowledge I gained in my life.

I am very glad that during the consideration of this criminal case, the participants in the trial could hear about what hope God promises us for the future. And this is also a manifestation of God's love for all people, in particular, for you. He believes that everyone deserves to hear the good news recorded in the Bible and make their choice: "For this is good and pleasing to our Savior God, who wants all people to be saved and attain the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:3, 4).

Besides the fact that the Bible gives great hope for the future, it also helps in everyday life: it teaches you to get along with others, show good qualities, be wiser and make good decisions that you will no longer regret. And also be reasonable, not to be deceived and distinguish between the truth and the lie. Nowadays, this is especially important, as there are a lot of scams, fakes, and false information. And many people even suffered from the fact that they could not recognize the deception. False arguments may look convincing, but in fact they turn out to be empty words, because they often appeal to feeling, but not to reason.

The Bible not only gives advice, but by reading it, you can learn lessons that can be applied in different life situations. I want to illustrate this with biblical examples and draw a parallel with the accusations that are being made against me.

First, a well-founded statement is often refuted or questioned by attacking the person who made it. This probably includes a well-known saying: "When arguments end, insults begin." It is very easy to give someone the epithet "fool, "mad", "ignoramus", and in my case "extremist", "a person with criminal intent", "she does not have a legal and special religious education, therefore, her words should not be taken seriously, she believes, because she it is said to believe." But look at what they said about Jesus Christ: "He is possessed by a demon and is mad" (John 10:20); and about his apostles: "they are not lowly and simple people" (Acts 4:13). It turns out that attacks on a person can intimidate or convince, but they never refute what is said.

Secondly, references to authority sound very convincing when quoting so-called experts or famous people. How was it in the time of Jesus? When the guards sent to arrest Jesus heard how and what he taught, they said to their superiors, "No man has ever spoken like this man," they replied, "Have you also been deceived? Did any of the rulers or Pharisees believe in him?" They did not try to refute the teachings of Jesus, but exposed their own authority as "experts" of the Mosaic law in order to express disdain for the words of Jesus.

In my case, there are also experts whose conclusions the prosecution refers to, building their accusations, without even delving into the methods of conducting examinations, nor into the validity of these conclusions, whether they are scientific and objective. I don't think the investigator and the prosecution have figured it out. If they had tried, then, of course, they would have noticed an obvious copying of one examination from another, blunders (when in all three examinations of the psychologist there are repeated pieces following each other); they would have noticed the lack of specifics, the vagueness and vagueness of the description of the methodology of both experts, the lack of scientific justification and bias; they would have noticed that a religious expert who does not have a special religious education draws conclusions based only on his personal opinion and assumptions, without consulting the works of scientists who have devoted dozens of years to studying the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. After all, in his expert opinion, expert Galiev L. M. did not take a single phrase from the works of serious scientists!

During the interrogation of religious scholar Galiev L. M., it turned out that he was very superficially familiar with the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, made erroneous conclusions, and this influenced his biased attitude. It was only later, listening to the recording of the meeting, that I realized what he meant when he asked me a question about 144,000 favorites. It turns out that he thinks that God will leave only 144,000 alive, and the rest of the people, according to Galiev L. M., will be destroyed. I did not understand this during the court session, because the Bible does not teach this, and I do not believe in it. He asked me, "What will happen to the rest of the people?" I replied that God decides, because the Bible says: "In every nation, a person who acts righteously is pleasing to God." I meant that God will decide who will enter the great multitude of people who will live forever on earth under the rule of the Heavenly Kingdom — the government where Jesus Christ is king. And together with Christ, just 144,000 will rule. Therefore, they are called the chosen ones, as well as "bought from the earth" (Revelation 14:3). And then Galiev L. M. said that "therefore, this organization (i.e. Jehovah's Witnesses) is extremist. But think about it: if only 144,000 survive, then why preach, because there are already more than 8,000,000 Jehovah's Witnesses?

[…]

Also, during the court session, it was found out that the investigator personally instructed the expert religious scholar to conduct the examination; the questions posed to the experts contained hints on whom and what to accuse; making their conclusions, the experts relied on the wording of the investigator. Doesn't that encourage you to think about the objectivity of their conclusions?

Thirdly, people often make mistakes when they consider generally accepted truths and views to be correct. But it is known from history that many previously widespread ideas were later refuted. The Bible advises: "Do not do evil just because everyone else does it, and if people do wrong, do not join them: do not let them convince you to do wrong, for you must do right and justly" (Exodus 23:2, Modern translation).

But it takes courage to do that. Reading the Bible, I learned that when a person has a fervent love for God and strong faith, it gives him courage. For example, at the beginning of the biblical book of Exodus, it is described that when the Egyptian Pharaoh, out of fear that the Israelites who were slaves in Egypt would multiply greatly and go against him, ordered the midwives of the Jews to kill newborn boys. So these midwives, whose names were Shifra and Foy, "feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt told them" (Exodus 1:15-17). But, violating the order of the terrible Pharaoh, they risked their lives!

We also know from modern history that Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany did not say "Heil Hitler!", did not work for the war and did not go to war. Many of them were thrown into concentration camps and even executed for this. True faith and love for God gave them courage and strength.

And Pontius Pilate, who judged Jesus Christ, said several times that he did not find fault with Jesus. It was Easter time, and the Jews had a custom of releasing a prisoner on Easter. Pilate offered to release Jesus, "But the chief priests and elders aroused the people to ask for [release] Barabbas [the famous criminal, Matthew 27:16], and to destroy Jesus" (Matthew 27:20). And Pontius Pilate, fearing the opinion of the majority, gave Jesus Christ to a painful death.

I know what sentences are now mostly handed down to Jehovah's Witnesses, although the Government of the Russian Federation has repeatedly declared the need to respect the constitutional rights of persons professing the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses. And I have attached to the case file a lot of documents confirming this. Therefore, I fully share the opinion of Doctor of Philosophy, religious scholar S.I. Ivanenko: "If law enforcement agencies and courts strictly followed the legal norms contained in the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of April 20, 2017, there would be no grounds for initiating criminal cases or for convictions against believers who simply gathered to religious gatherings as part of religious groups."

[…]

Fourthly, it is possible to come to the wrong conclusion when, with an erroneous argument, only two options are put forward - "either ... or". For example, when some, accusing Jehovah's Witnesses, say: "Either you agree to a blood transfusion, or you will die." And the facts show that there are alternative methods of treatment and most operations can be successfully performed without blood. For example, experienced surgeons often operate with minimal blood loss. Another possibility is the use of blood-free fluids to increase the amount of plasma. Moreover, many accepted blood transfusions and died, and many refused blood transfusions and stayed alive. It is already clear from these cases that blood transfusion does not ensure the preservation of life.

This is similar to how Satan, asking Eve a question, said that they should not eat from all trees, although God forbade them to eat fruits from only one tree — from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But in paradise, "the Lord God has grown out of the earth every tree that is pleasant to look at and good for food" (Genesis 2:9). That is, there were a lot of alternatives! Therefore, when faced with such a situation, it is useful to ask yourself the question: "Are there really only two possibilities? Or could there be others?" And these are just a few examples of what lessons can be learned from reading the Bible.

Your Honor! The case file contains documents stating that during the investigation, I was admitted to the hospital with a hypertensive crisis. I want to tell you about this in more detail, because this story clearly shows that feelings of hatred and hostility are alien to me, even to those people who personally harm me.

Before my house was searched and interrogations began, I had no problems with blood pressure and did not constantly drink medications. But soon I had attacks of dizziness, poor health caused by high blood pressure. The pressure increased every time I came home after the interrogation or started researching the materials of my criminal case. But I had to read everything carefully and understand exactly what the investigator sees my crime in so that I could properly build a defense.

The accusations that I have repeatedly voiced in this hall caused me bewilderment, indignation and pain, because all the listed "acts" (as I later realized, rewritten from the law on extremism) are personally unusual, unnatural and very unpleasant to me. It got to the point that one day the pressure rose very much, the drugs no longer helped, and I had to call an ambulance. The team that arrived helped me and told me that the next day I needed to go to the district therapist. And I was supposed to come in for questioning the next day.

As prescribed by the medical staff, the next day I went to the clinic. But I felt so bad that I couldn't sit in line and took a taxi home. And from there I called a doctor at home. I called the investigator and told him that my blood pressure was high and I was very ill. The investigator explained that documentary evidence was needed. And if this does not happen, then, as the investigator told my lawyer on the phone, an operation group will be sent for me. And even though I'm retired and don't work, I had to take sick leave. Therefore, the investigator allowed me not to appear this time, and scheduled an interrogation in four days, that is, the day after my visit to the therapist to extend or close my sick leave. Three days later, I went to the clinic with a sick leave. And even though I was taking the medications prescribed by the doctors, my blood pressure was high again, and they extended my sick leave. But the investigator told me on the phone that this time the sick leave would not be a reason for not appearing for questioning. And the next day I had to go. Or rather, not to go, but to take a taxi, although I live not far from the Investigative Committee. The fact is that the blood pressure in the morning was over 170, and after taking medications it did not decrease, but, on the contrary, increased.

When I entered the investigator's office, I explained that I was feeling unwell and first of all I needed to measure my blood pressure (I took the device with me). They measured it, the upper one was 198. The investigator did not call me an ambulance, but told me to do it myself. And despite feeling unwell, I had to do it. It was good that I talked to the ambulance on speakerphone, because when the ambulance dispatcher realized where I was and as someone, she explained that I had no right to call an ambulance to the investigative committee myself, since I was not an employee of it. And only then investigator Sysoeva Natalia Gennadievna began to talk to the ambulance and explain what and how. When the ambulance arrived, the pressure was already 200, and I was taken to the hospital, where I lay for a week.

I believe that in this case investigator Sysoeva Natalia Gennadievna showed cruelty to me. I don't think that a sick leave has a basis for not showing up for questioning only once. She took advantage of my ignorance of all the laws, threats (I absolutely did not want the task force to come after me, and even when I was in such a state, and to be forcibly taken to the Investigative Committee). And also, the investigator did not want to call an ambulance for me herself, despite my poor health. I think that according to the law, I could file a complaint against such actions of the investigator, which probably did not add advantages to her career.

[…]

Your Honor, please note that although the investigator treated me badly, I had no malice or hatred towards her. It has not been and still is not, although it was she who signed my indictment and handed it over to the court. I do not want to attribute bad motives to her (although they are attributed to me), this is not in my nature at all, and I really hope that she will understand that Jehovah's Witnesses do not pose a threat to anyone or anything and will not be afraid to act according to her conscience.

I also want to assure everyone present that I have no negative feelings towards the state prosecutors, the prosecution witnesses, or the experts. And I really hope that when they get to know Jehovah's Witnesses better, their opinion of us will change. After all, the Apostle Paul, originally called Saul, was a persecutor of Christians before becoming an apostle. But when the resurrected Jesus Christ appeared to him, he realized how much he was mistaken. And the first-century Christian Ananias, whom Jesus sent to help Paul, addressed him like this: "Saul, brother." I would also really like to address my accusers the same way someday: "brother" or "sister".

In conclusion, I would like to add that as a Jehovah's Witness I have nothing to do with extremism. I'm sure it's clear from the case file. It has not been proven that I continued the activities of the liquidated organizations, nor has it been proven that I was engaged in any extremist activity. It all boils down to the fact that the investigator suggested the wording of the extremist organization to the experts in the questions. The experts used it in their conclusions. And then the prosecution presented these conclusions as evidence. And the witnesses who attributed my membership in the MRO based their words only on assumptions and on the substitution of the concepts of "being a believer" for "being a member of a legal entity."

When the case materials were read out, in particular, the protocols for familiarizing me and my defense attorney with the decisions on the appointment of forensic examinations, Your Honor, you saw that every time I wrote in the protocol a statement that the experts would give a clear and specific answer to the question: "What is the difference between the concepts of "professing any religion"and "to be a member of a religious organization." Investigator Sysoeva N. G. refused to satisfy my applications, considering that there were no grounds for this. I believe that the unwillingness of the investigation to look into this issue once again confirms that my accusation is based on the substitution of the concepts of "profession of religion" for "belonging to a legal entity."

And the answer to my question is just in the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated October 28, 2021 No. 32 "On Amendments to Some Resolutions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on criminal cases", where paragraph 20 states that "under participation in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 2 of art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) means the commission by a person of intentional actions directly related to the continuation or resumption of the activities of this organization (conducting conversations in order to promote the activities of a prohibited organization, direct participation in events, etc.)." And further it is explained that "when considering a criminal case on a crime provided for in Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the court should establish what specific actions were committed by the guilty person, what is their significance for the continuation or resumption of the activities of the organization in respect of which the court adopted and entered into force a decision on liquidation or prohibition of activities in connection with the implementation of extremism, as well as what motives the person was guided by when committing these actions."

What specific actions have been set? Participation in a collective worship service — not in a meeting of the MPO — and active participation in the discussion of religious literature.

By reading the transcripts of the services, Your Honor, you could make sure that the content of the literature and comments discussed was exclusively peaceful. That's probably why the task of investigating them for extremism was not even set. Nothing in my words or actions even remotely resembles extremism. The motives of all my actions are dictated by the desire to profess my faith, to try to show love for God and for people.

Therefore, I kindly ask, Your Honor, to take into account what is further stated in this resolution: "In the event of a court decision and entry into force of a decision on the liquidation or prohibition of the activities of a public or religious association or other organization in connection with the implementation of extremist activities, subsequent actions of persons not related to the continuation or resumption of the activities of the relevant extremist organization and consisting solely in the exercise of their right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, including through individual or joint confession of religion, worship or other religious rites and ceremonies, by themselves, if they do not contain signs of extremism, do not constitute a crime provided for in part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation."

All my actions, which the prosecution presents as participation in the activities of an extremist organization, are the realization of my right to freedom of religion, do not contain signs of extremism and do not constitute a crime. Therefore, Your Honor, I ask the court to find me innocent and fully acquit me! My conscience is clear before you, before all people, and most importantly, before God.

Please attach my last word to the case file.

Summary of the case

Region:

Samara region

Locality:

Tolyatti

What is suspected of:

"with the use of conspiracy measures, including using a video communication application. She took an active part in the form of a collective religious worship service, consisting of a consistent study and discussion of the religious literature of Jehovah's Witnesses" (from the decision on bringing as an accused)

The number of the criminal case:

12302360032000362

Case initiated:

September 7, 2023

The current stage of the case:

The verdict has not entered into force

Investigating:

The Central interdistrict Investigative Department of the SU IC of the Russian Federation in the Samara region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2)

The number of the case in court:

1-90/2024 (1-662/2023)

The Court of First Instance:

The Central District Court of Tolyatti

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Elena Laskina