The last word of the defendant Natalia Sharapova in Yaroslavsky

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Natalia Sharapova in Yaroslavsky

July 9, 2024

Primorsky Krai

In her speech in court, the believer noted: "Prison doesn't fix people. Love and obedience to Jehovah God changes people's lives, and radically and for the better… Love was and remains the basis of all my actions and deeds."

Transcript of the court session in the Khorolsky District Court of Primorsky Krai, Khorol, dated 07/09/2024 in the case 1-8/2024 (1-183/2023) on charges against Sharapova Natalia Vladimirovna and others. of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Sharapova Natalia Vladimirovna:

Your Honor! The trial has finally ended, which I am very glad about. I am not happy that I am about to be released, I do not know what sentence awaits me. For me, every court session is stressful, and when I had to answer questions or read something, I felt even more stressed. And so I am glad that these are the last words that I say in front of you, feeling great excitement. I want to thank you, Your Honor, for your patience and open-minded attitude. Although you do not adhere to our religious views, we have not felt any hostility from you.

I want to thank the State Prosecutor for the courtesy and restraint you have shown us. Thank you to my lawyers for their patience and understanding.You respected my beliefs.

Many thanks to my friends who, despite the distance, employment, and state of health, came to support us. You have no idea how much support you have given us! I am very grateful to God for you. Many thanks to my family. They are very worried about me, despite the fact that they do not share my beliefs. My little daughter has always seemed to me very fragile and delicate, but, finding herself in a difficult situation for our whole family, she showed herself to be a very strong and courageous girl. You know, Your Honor, what we've been through in these 20 months has brought our family even closer together. I believe that my family and my children are God's greatest gift.

Anna Gennadievna, thank you for your conscientious work, willingness to help, prompt and for your kind smile.

The facts of my alleged crime are four videos from 2018 and 2019, where my co—believers and I worshipped God, as well as leaflets, notebooks, separate pages with the name of God "Jehovah" and the phrase "Jehovah's Witnesses". I was told: "We would sit quietly at home and pray to our God." That's exactly what I did, which is confirmed by all the videos. Nothing that includes the definition of "extremism" was heard either on video recordings or in telephone conversations. Moreover, all the prosecution witnesses said that we are peaceful people. But despite these facts, the prosecution continues to assert that my way of life, based on God's principles and laws, is a grave crime.

Extremism is a terrible crime, which of course must be stopped immediately. The Investigative Committee and operational police officers of the Yaroslavsky settlement followed us, the so-called extremists, from August 15, 2018 to October 6, 2022. In my opinion, this is too long to allow such an evil to exist. The videos are dated 2018 and 2019. Then what did we do for the other 3 years, what kind of "evil" were we doing? Or is extremism not as scary as it is painted? Or was there no extremism at all? Then what happened?

According to the materials collected by the investigation, I am being tried for being a Jehovah's Witness. The religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is not prohibited. The Bible is not prohibited, living according to Biblical laws is not prohibited, as the Constitution of the Russian Federation assures me (Articles 17-19, 28). And the Federal Law "On Countering Extremist Activity" prohibits considering the content and quoting of the Bible as extremism (Article 3.1).

Then why am I in prison for 20 months? Imprisonment implies punishment. What and how should I correct myself in the process of punishment? What should I change about myself, in my life? These 20 months I have been surrounded by women who killed, used or sold drugs, stole, cheated, and did not want to take responsibility for the upbringing and maintenance of their children. I don't swear, I've never used drugs, and I've never done any of the above. Having trained my conscience on the basis of biblical principles, I have always behaved honestly and peacefully with all people. So what should I fix in myself and in my lifestyle?! What do those who arrange surveillance of believers, arrest and detain them achieve in general? How should we, Jehovah's Witnesses, change our worship of God so that our profession of faith is not equated with the resumption of illegal, extremist activities, extremism?

And if the management center of the Russian Orthodox Church is banned tomorrow? Will the parishioners stop celebrating their divine services, painting eggs at Easter, making a procession at Christmas, or will they immediately cross themselves into another faith? Of course not. The proof is what happened in the Soviet Union, especially before the Great Patriotic War: temples and churches were demolished, priests were shot or exiled en masse. This affected not only Jehovah's Witnesses in the 1940s and 1950s, but also Orthodox and believers of other faiths. And so, the Soviet Union with its repressions has long ceased to exist, and believers from generation to generation have kept their faith and still worship God.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not oppose the government, do not organize strikes. We have banned a legal entity — we will do without it, as we did before, until the early 1990s. We were forbidden to meet in specially built or rented buildings — we will manage, we will invite each other to visit as before. The buildings were confiscated — well, that's fine. All material things are not eternal in this world, and God does not live in man-made buildings, as it is written in the Bible, Acts 17:24, 25.

What role did the Management Center play in my worship of God before its liquidation? He did not print bibles and literature, did not create liturgical videos, and did not compile a program of worship. Yes, as a legal entity, he could officially contact government officials and carry out customs operations. There are no contacts, no exports and imports of literature, but this does not affect my faith in God and my desire to act kindly, as Jesus Christ taught. There was also no Management Center in the 1st century. And modern Jehovah's Witnesses base their faith on what is written in the Bible, and worship services are performed in the same way as Christians did in the first century. And the most important thing is that the court did not prohibit the confession and dissemination of the religious beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses.

God Jehovah, the Lord of the universe, has given people the right to choose their own path. He doesn't force people to do anything. He is a very just God who, having given people laws, observes them himself. I can firmly say that the path I am following was chosen by me through trial and error. This is my conscious choice, and no one recruited or forced me. Prison doesn't fix people. Love and obedience to Jehovah God changes people's lives, and dramatically and for the better. I did not choose between killing — not killing, stealing — not stealing, I chose to believe, trust Jehovah, live according to His laws, which are based on love for relatives, neighbors and even those who harm us.

Your Honor, I cannot imagine how, having felt the love of the Creator himself, the Lord of the Universe, one can abandon Him. Look around you, what a wonderful world He has created for us. If someone doesn't believe in God, look at the Sun. I know, I've tried, it's impossible to hold out for a second without squinting. Jehovah created this star! I really love the sea, I like to sit on the shore and watch the endless horizon or the incoming waves. It is simply impossible to look away from them. Our Creator created all this for us, because He loves us very much. Thanks to His love, I have wonderful loving and caring children and a mother, I have a lot of loyal, loving friends whom you have seen at every court hearing, and if there were no restrictions in places, there would be even more of them. During my arrest, I received several thousand letters from all over the world with words of love and assurances of support. Jesus taught: "Therefore, everyone will know that you are my disciples if there is love between you." Love was and remains the basis of all my actions and deeds.

Your Honor, I'm not trying to persuade you to treat us in any special way. I ask you very much to take into account all the available facts of our innocence and pass 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