The last word of the defendant Ildar Urazbakhtin in Kodinsk

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Ildar Urazbakhtin in Kodinsk

October 7, 2022

Krasnoyarsk Territory

From the courtroom

The believer stressed that he considers the accusation groundless: "I am not ashamed to look people in the eye, I am not ashamed to stand in the courtroom. I had no previous convictions, had nothing to do with crime. I'm not standing here for any crime. I'm only here because I believe in God, whose name is Jehovah."

Transcript of the court session in the Kemezhsky District Court of the Krasnoyarsk Territory dated 07.10.2022 in the case 1-31/2022 on charges of Urazbakhtin Ildar Ismagilovich of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Urazbakhtin Ildar Ismagilovich: At the beginning of my last word, I want to thank the respected court for the opportunity to speak in its defense, as well as for the calm and respectful atmosphere that prevailed in the courtroom. Your Honor, thank you for trying to delve into this extraordinary, difficult matter. Many thanks to the secretaries for the work they have done. I also thank the state prosecutor for his hard work. I am very grateful to my lawyer, Mazhitova Baizanat Selmurzaevna, who helped me during this process.

I am grateful to my dear wife, Gula. We have been together for 35 years, she is my reliable rear and my safe haven. Unfortunately, due to her poor health, she could not attend these meetings, but she is always with me in mind and heart.

Thank you very much to our friends, near and far, for your participation, for supporting us with your prayers.

The last word is inherently more related not to the case materials — although I will pay attention to them later — but to feelings. What are my feelings about what has been happening to me over the past year?

One could talk about injustice, but this is understandable to anyone who comes into contact with this case. It can be noted that there are no victims and victims in the case.

And now I would like to briefly recall once again some figures and facts that, unfortunately, the prosecution does not take into account.

So, first of all, on January 19, 2017, I was appointed head of the liquidation commission of the Jehovah's Witnesses MRO S. Boguchany. I informed the Department of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the Krasnoyarsk Territory in writing about the beginning of the liquidation process of the MRO legal entity, that is, long before the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 04/20/2017. The decision to liquidate the legal entity is due to the fact that for a long time the activity of the legal entity was not conducted and therefore there was no need for it. My status has changed and in official correspondence with the Ministry of Justice, my position was indicated as follows: "to the liquidator of the Jehovah's Witnesses MRO S. Boguchany Urazbakhtin I. I." or "to the head of the liquidation commission." The above facts were completely ignored by the prosecution, as well as the fact that I am not on the list of founders either.

Secondly, in the register of legal entities on the liquidation of the MRO of Jehovah's Witnesses of the village of Boguchany, it is indicated: the method of termination is "by court decision", although we ourselves were the initiators of the liquidation of the MRO.

Thirdly, it should be noted that I did not organize or hold any meetings of the organization or meetings of the MRO of the village of Boguchany. The prosecution does not take into account the essential fact that at the Christian services on 10/27/2019 and 11/16/2019, I only "realized the role of a reader", as indicated in the transcripts of these services. Thus, I did not perform any leadership functions and did not manipulate anyone, but only participated in divine services, reading the Bible and religious sources that revealed the creeds of Jehovah's Witnesses.

In addition, I am not the author of the services cited in the transcripts, since the contents of these publications indicate that this or that article was considered by Jehovah's Witnesses around the world, which confirms the performance of worship services around the world within the framework of the global denomination of Jehovah's Witnesses, which was not prohibited.

As for the meeting of believers on 03/14/2021, the memorandum notes that "baptism is taking place in the community of Jehovah's Witnesses" - a ceremony is taking place, and not a meeting of the MRO, as the prosecution wants to present it. I do not understand why the prosecution needs to distort the facts and look for violations of the law where there are none. The prosecution insists that I intentionally violated the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 04/20/2017, but this is not the case.

Your Honor, everyone knows that Jehovah's Witnesses are law-abiding citizens. If any law came out today that forbids me or restricts me in some way, would I purposefully violate it, and then, being convicted, say that I do not understand what I am accused of? No, I emphasize once again that all my actions are absolutely legal, I did not commit any illegal activity and did not plan to commit it.

It is obvious to me that all the decisions — the appeal ruling of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 07/17/2017, the response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation dated 02/20/2021, the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 10/28/2021, the ECHR decisions issued before 03/15/2022 — were intended to clarify to everyone that the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 04/20/2017, the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is not It is forbidden, and I can freely worship God and perform various rituals. All the above-mentioned decisions are aimed precisely at dotting all the dots over the "and" in this trial and thus excluding an erroneous, unlawful court decision.

I really hope that justice will prevail. But I don't want to talk about it much right now, because I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

God gave me life, and I want to appreciate every day I live. I want to notice, I want to see how God participates in my life every day. It's so wonderful that "He's not far from each of us."

In my last word, I want to share the good things that have happened to me during this time. Thank you very much to those who arranged all this for me, because my faith has become stronger. My trust in God has increased.

In a normal situation, it is difficult for a person to evaluate his faith, but when faced with difficulties, he understands what the quality of his faith is. In the Bible, this thought is expressed in the words in the First Epistle of Peter 1:7: "That your tested faith may be more precious than gold that is being destroyed, although tested by fire, to praise and honor and glory in the appearance of Jesus Christ." Why is proven faith better than gold? Although gold is very valuable, it, like the rest of wealth, cannot give its owner life, and no amount of gold can buy the true wisdom coming from the Creator, Jehovah God. The Apostle Peter draws attention to the excellent durability and enduring value of faith. A proven faith is much more valuable than gold, which, although it withstands fire, is not eternal and can be destroyed.

Christians have to undergo various trials, which sometimes cause them distress. However, this improves their faith. True faith can withstand any test. Looking back at what has been happening to me lately, I feel deeply gratified to realize that I have precious faith.

In the First Epistle of Peter it is written: "For it is pleasing to God if anyone, thinking of God, endures tribulation, suffering unjustly. For what kind of praise is it if you tolerate being beaten for wrongdoing? But if, doing good and suffering, you endure, it pleases God, for that is what you are called to do; because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example so that we would follow in his footsteps" (1 Peter 2:19-21).

In what ways, among other things, can we imitate the example of Jesus Christ? In the Bible, Jesus speaks of himself: "Thus saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 3:14). Jesus is God's first creation in heaven, he is a faithful and true witness. What did it mean for Jesus to be a witness? In the Hebrew Scriptures, the noun translated as "witness" is derived from a verb meaning "to return" or "to repeat, to do again." The dictionaries say: "A witness is someone who, by repeating, persistently confirms his testimony. This word is peculiar to the language of legal proceedings, perhaps it means: "that a person has spoken repeatedly and with great conviction."

The witness tells about what he has learned directly himself or preaches any views and truths that he is convinced of. In the past, a great many servants of God, starting with the righteous Abel (the son of Adam and Eve), testified about their faith in Jehovah. Just as a witness speaks in court in defense of an innocent person, so Jehovah's Witnesses tell others the truths about their God Jehovah. Jehovah's Witnesses have existed since the beginning of human history. This is not a new religion.

Jesus Christ faithfully fulfilled his mission, he told Pontius Pilate: "This is why I was born and this is why I came into the world to bear witness to the truth; everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice" (John 18:37). He became the greatest Jehovah's witness who ever lived on earth. It is a great honor for me to imitate him in this.

Over time, the meaning of the word "witness" expanded under the influence of the fact that Christians of the first century showed loyalty to God. Many of those early Christians testified during the persecution and in the face of death. Therefore, around the II century AD, the Greek equivalent of the word "witness" ("martis", from which the word "martyr" is derived in a number of languages) began to denote a person who was ready to "testify [something] with his blood." [...] Jesus warned: "Remember the word that I told you: a servant is no greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20).

Before his death on the pillar of torment, Jesus was subjected to severe persecution. Shortly after his death, as he had warned, his students faced similar treatment. How were his students supposed to feel about the persecution? There is nothing pleasant about persecution, as the apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:15, 16: "Let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a villain, or as encroaching on someone else's property; and if as a Christian, then do not be ashamed, but glorify God."

Your Honor, our city is small and everyone knows each other. I'm not ashamed to look people in the eye, I'm not ashamed to stand here in the courtroom. I had no previous convictions, had nothing to do with crime. I'm not standing here for any crime. I'm only here because I believe in God, whose name is Jehovah.

"Jehovah's Witnesses" — where did this name come from? From the Bible. That's what God calls the people he considers his people. Isaiah 43:12: "I have foretold, and saved, and declared; but you have no other, and you are my witnesses, says the LORD, that I am God." Further, verse 21, Jehovah God says: "I have formed this people for Myself; they will proclaim My glory," and describing these people, the Creator mentions an important detail: "Everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, formed and arranged." A Jehovah's Witness is one who is called by the name of God and proclaims the glory of Jehovah's God. This passage of the Bible, where Jehovah God calls people who believe in him witnesses, was recorded more than 700 years before Christ's life on earth, and it turns out 2,700 years before today. If you pay attention to the history of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, they used to be called Bible Researchers. However, in 1931, they decided to take the name "Jehovah's Witnesses" based on the Bible, which reflected the desire of these people and the very essence of their activity — witnessing about Jehovah.

Jehovah's Witnesses have been known in Russia since 1887. That year, the Zion Watchtower noted that individual issues of this magazine were sent to different places and even Russia.

Here is what the chief specialist of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Mikhail Ivanovich Odintsov writes about the history of Jehovah's Witnesses: "Since the 1880s, information about the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, and then the religious literature of this emerging Christian church appear and spread in the Russian Empire. Following this, as noted in religious and scientific literature, it becomes known about the first followers of Jehovah's Witnesses, and since the 1910s about the first groups and associations of Jehovah's Witnesses on the territory of the Russian Empire (the Grand Duchy of Finland, the Kingdom of Poland, the Baltic States, 3-Western Ukraine). During the Second World War (1939-1945), there were already dozens and hundreds of religious associations of Jehovah's Witnesses in the USSR, primarily in the western regions of Ukraine, in the Baltic States and in Moldova, which consisted of several thousand members. Initially, and until the mid-1980s, the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses and its followers were persecuted and persecuted in Russia: arrests, prisons, deprivation of rights and property, deportation, camps, settlements, life in the Gulag and even the death penalty… In practice, as declassified documents and materials now testify, as well as spiritual (church) and scientific religious literature published in Russia and abroad, believers simply wanted to believe the way they understood it, researching the Bible and living according to Biblical laws. Only since 1990-1991. the state — now the Russian Federation — has recognized for Jehovah's Witnesses their right to believe and live according to their own religious beliefs, and the previous state policy of their persecution in the Soviet era, recognized by law as unjustified repression, rehabilitating them."

It was at this historical time that I met Jehovah's Witnesses. Studying the Bible with them, I saw how much benefit the knowledge of Jehovah God and his son Jesus Christ bring to me, my dear wife and our children. We became really happy people. Three years later, in 1999, I became a Jehovah's Witness by being baptized.

Your Honor, I would never have believed that I would have to answer to the court for my peaceful beliefs, but I am sure that this whole process is no longer for me, but for everyone present in this room. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 10, verse 18, Jesus said, "And they will lead you to rulers and kings for me, for a testimony." And here I am, at your service.

I noticed that all the participants in this process are trying to perform their official duties as best as possible. Neither during the search, nor during any other activities related to interrogations, detention in an IVS or house arrest, no one treated me badly, no one made me feel that I was a malicious criminal. I think these people saw and understood who I really was. I consider this a manifestation of the highest professionalism and humanity. I also saw how you, Your Honor, tried to delve into all the details of this difficult case. I saw how the secretary, Olga Mikhailovna Gorbatyuk, diligently kept the protocol — once she had to write everything down manually, all my testimony, and this is a lot, about ten pages of handwritten text. I bow low to you all. By choosing this specialty, you have come to fight crime. [...] I am sure that your choice is dictated by a sense of love for people, justice and a desire to make this world a better place. And in this I agree with you.

This process lasts for more than a year: two days in an IVS, then two months under house arrest, a ban on leaving, etc. — all this taught me to appreciate freedom more, the opportunity to move freely around the city, to feel the breeze, raindrops, green grass under my feet — all that I was deprived of for a while. I am sure that if you make a decision related to my imprisonment, then my God will teach me something useful there, I will be able to somehow brighten up the lives of the people there by sharing the good news with them, including the prospect of receiving the glorious freedom of God's children. Because the true freedom that comes from God far surpasses the freedom of ordinary people, and neither high fences with barbed wire nor thick walls can limit this freedom.

Jesus Christ said in John 8:32, "And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." What does the truth free people from? From many things, for example, from the fear of death, because "there will be a resurrection of the dead of the righteous and the unrighteous." Jesus once said: "The Father is the source of life, and He allowed his son to give life to people and gave Him the power to be a judge, for He is Jesus, the Son of Man. Grave graves Do not be surprised at this, for the time is approaching when all those who lie in the graves will hear the voice of the Son of Man and will rise from their graves" (John 5:26-29 in Modern translation).

One of the main teachings of the Bible is the doctrine of the resurrection. The Greek word translated in the Bible as "resurrection" means "getting up" or "getting up again." The dead people will be resurrected on earth. They will be resurrected by the same personalities, with all their unique characteristics and with all their memories.

What else does the truth free us from? From the reign of sin, because God sacrificed his son and we have the forgiveness of sins. God also gives his holy spirit, and man gets the power to fight his influence. As it is written: "The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, virtue, faith, meekness, self—control." The truth also frees from religious ignorance: a person learns who God is, that he has a personal name Jehovah, and not only titles such as the Most High, Almighty, Creator, Creator, that God is love, therefore there is no literal place where he will torment sinners. Jesus Christ is the son of God, the firstborn of all his creation, the King of the heavenly kingdom of God and the head of the Christian congregation. Through faith in his shed blood, we have hope for an eternal future in paradise on earth.

Your Honor, I cherish these precious truths very much, and I am pleased to share them with all of you. Living in accordance with the truths from God, we become truly happy people, I have personally seen this.

At the end of my last word, I want to say: Your Honor, please make a fair decision. Please excuse me.

Summary of the case

Region:

Krasnoyarsk Territory

Locality:

Codinsk

What is suspected:

"carried out activities to coordinate the conduct of free private Bible studies for interested persons, as well as religious meetings"

The number of the criminal case:

12102040029000013

Case initiated:

July 19, 2021

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigating:

GSU of the RF IC for the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Khakassia

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-31/2022

The Court of First Instance:

Kezhemsky District Court of the Krasnoyarsk Territory

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Grigory Garbuz.