The last word of the defendant Alexey Gorely in Gukovo

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Alexey Gorely in Gukovo

September 12, 2022

Rostov region

From the courtroom

"The services of Jehovah's Witnesses, which I have attended since the age of 9, have helped me become a useful member of society, lead a highly moral life and create my own strong family," Alexey Gorely stressed in his last speech and asked the court to give him the opportunity to raise his only child.

Transcript of the court session in the Gukovsky City Court of the Rostov region dated 09/12/2022 in the case 1-710/2021 on charges of Gorely Alexey Vladimirovich and others. of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Gorely Alexey Vladimirovich: Your Honor, dear court! I also want to start with words of gratitude: first of all, I thank my family — my wife Inna, my son Timofey, my mother Tatiana — this is the most precious thing I have. During the two years I spent in jail, they faithfully supported me spiritually, emotionally, physically and financially.

The Bible says about family relationships: "they are no longer two, but one flesh." Personally, I have seen for myself that my dear wife Inna is "my flesh", and although we were separated for two years, I felt all this time her devoted care and love for me. She came from Rostov to Gukovo for every court session, waited on the street, as there was no opportunity to be in the hall, brought me transfers to the pre-trial detention center and to the IVS. Many thanks to my son Timofey, he gave me postcards, handmade crafts. And when he learned to write, he wrote letters to me, and I keep them carefully. In addition, although he is only 9 years old, he courageously let his mother go to every court session and supported her, although it was not easy to let her go and stay alone.

Many thanks to my mother, who moved to Rostov at the age of 70 to support my wife and our son Timofey. I want to thank our friends who supported us in every possible way. During my time in jail, I received thousands of letters of support from all over the world. The permanent support group outside the courthouse greeted us with applause at every court hearing in any weather.

In addition, during all this time in the pre-trial detention center, my employer supported me financially, although I could no longer work while in custody. Thanks to him for that too.

I am very grateful to my lawyer, Tatyana Yurievna, and other defenders who came to every court session also in any weather. You have been involved in our business since the very first day and have done your job well.

Your Honor, thank you also for allowing me to make phone calls to my wife and mother, for the atmosphere during the court sessions, for allowing all participants in the process to speak out.

Thanks to the staff of the court, the prosecutor's office, and the convoy service for their respectful and patient attitude to our needs and requests during this trial.

Unfortunately, I was left without a father very early. And I was raised most of the time by my mother and grandmother. It has affected my whole life. In this regard, as a child, I began to think about the meaning of life and the fact that our lives are very short. When I was 9 years old, my mother and grandmother started studying the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses. I was also present at these studies. And then I found out that all people, including me, have a Heavenly Father, God, who has the name Jehovah.

What does the name "Jehovah" mean? It is often heard in this hall. Literally, it means from the Hebrew language "He gives to become." In other words, God becomes what is needed to fulfill his purpose. Any father, depending on the circumstances, is a breadwinner, educator, judge, teacher or defender for his family. Similarly, the very name "Jehovah" guarantees that God will definitely fulfill his will for the benefit of people.

Why can God be called a Father and you can have a close, trusting relationship with him? When Jesus lived on earth, he gave his disciples an exemplary prayer, known today as "Our Father." In this prayer, Jesus taught his disciples to address God as the Father. This reminds us that God wants us to have a warm, intimate relationship with him. In addition, God can be called the Father, because he is the source of our life. He is the Creator of all life on earth. While studying the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses, I learned that it is possible to communicate with my heavenly Father. To do this, you need to turn to him in prayer and read his complete Bible. In prayer, I can tell him about everything that bothers me in my own words. Besides, I can thank Him for everything I have.

I also learned that I have many brothers and sisters around the world who, like me, recognize God as their Father and develop their relationship with Him. I wanted to be a part of this big loving family, and therefore, when I turned 14, in 1995 I was baptized, that is, I dedicated my life to God, my loving heavenly Father, and became part of this big friendly family. Knowing that I have a Father, that He cares about me and wants me to live happily has enriched my life and filled it with meaning. It helped me to adhere to high moral standards, set goals in life and achieve them, and also compensated for the absence of my own father.

From the search to today, it is difficult for me to describe how I feel. All my life I have tried to be law-abiding, to love and respect people, and I have tried to work on my character. But, with all this, getting acquainted with the materials of the criminal case and subsequently coming to court sessions and hearing specialists, representatives of the prosecution, I feel that they are unfairly trying to plunge me into the mud. The investigation team has been looking for evidence for 11 months that I am a Jehovah's witness. But I didn't deny it from the very beginning. And I don't deny it now. My faith is peaceful. I respect people of different nationalities and faiths, because I understand that God created all people. He commanded us to observe only two commandments that help us make the right decisions in life: "Love the Lord your God" and "love your neighbor as yourself." If I love God, I will not harm the crown of his creation, man. If I love my neighbors, then I will share with them the good things that I have.

As for my participation in the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in Gukovo, I was indeed a member of the MRO. But not after 2017, but from 1998 to 2006. In 2006, I ceased to be a member of any MPO, as evidenced by the MPO protocol, which is in the materials of the criminal case. However, after ceasing to be a member of the MRO in 2006, I did not cease to be a believer — a Jehovah's Witness.

So what is my fault?

Judging by the case materials reviewed in this trial, all my fault boils down to the fact that I prayed with others, sang songs of religious content, discussed the Bible with others, and performed these actions through a video conference call.

As I said earlier, I have actually attended the services of Jehovah's Witnesses since I was a child. And after 2017, he did not give up his faith and continued to profess it, first with his family, and later, in 2019, together with other families. At the same time, I never had the intention to continue the activities of a local religious organization. The only motive for my actions is love for my heavenly Father and for my neighbor. After all, if we love God, we want to obediently fulfill his commandments. Just like children obey their parents. If we love our neighbors, we will help them, including spiritually.

Article 28 of the Russian Constitution gives the right to profess any religion individually or jointly with other people. The Supreme Court did not ban the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Moreover, the Supreme Court clarified that believers can attend religious services of religious organizations regardless of whether they are registered or not. A huge number of Russian human rights organizations express perplexity about the criminal prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses because of the legitimate expression of their faith.

I'll give you an example from history. In the Soviet Union, since 1925, the Orthodox Church has suffered severe persecution. Many churches were destroyed or used for non-religious purposes. Although people could no longer gather in church, does this mean that they stopped believing, celebrating holidays, using the attributes of the church and talking about God and the Bible? No. And, as we know, they did a lot of things stealthily. Can we say that they are extremists or have continued the activities of the church? No, they did only what their conscience and faith prompted them to do. Russian President Vladimir Putin once said that "those who do not remember the past have no future."

Discussing the unjustified persecution of people for their beliefs, President Putin said the following words, published in the Kommersant edition of November 2, 2018: "Unfortunately, we face similar practices in many regions of the world, the planet, including, unfortunately, in the post—Soviet space," he said. — At the same time, both cave nationalism and Russophobia are used. Shameless, gross interference in church life is being carried out. Such a policy is fraught with serious consequences, it is dangerous! I am convinced that life will put everything in its place, because you cannot force people to go against their faith, their traditions, family lineage, in the end, against truth, justice and just common sense!"

I also agree with President Putin's words that, under pain of criminal liability, I cannot be forced to go against my faith and conscience. All my life I have tried to be a useful member of society. Therefore, he worked as an accountant, an economist, a tax inspector and in recent years as a chief accountant. This is a very responsible and important job for society. The lives and well-being of many people, families and the state depend on it. Throughout my career, I have received only positive feedback and recommendations. The case file contains a certificate of merit for conscientious work in the tax authorities of the Rostov region, issued by the Federal Office of the Tax Service of the Rostov region. In addition, the management of the production company Greenmarshal LLC presented me with a certificate of honor for high professionalism and responsibility in the performance of my professional duties. This makes the accusation of extremism even more ridiculous. The services of Jehovah's Witnesses, which I have attended since the age of 9, have helped me become a useful member of society, lead a highly moral life and create my own strong family. As the sole breadwinner of my family, I am experiencing mental and moral suffering from the fact that I cannot take care of her and fulfill the duties of a husband, father and son, having been imprisoned for two years.

Summing up all that has been said, I want to note that prayer, reading the Bible and singing religious songs is for any believer a form of expression of his faith and is necessary for the development of a close relationship with the heavenly Father, Jehovah God.

I already lost my own father as a child, and in 2018, my dear stepfather. That's why I know the bitterness of such a loss. I cannot leave my Heavenly Father, who has already done so much for me, and also gave me hope for a happy future.

Please, Your Honor, do not separate me from my family.

Give me the opportunity to raise my only young child and take care of my spouse, as well as an elderly disabled mother. I ask you to make a fair decision and acquit me. Please attach my last word to the case file.

Thank you for listening.

Summary of the case

Region:

Rostov region

Locality:

Gukovo

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, "they called meetings of co-religionists, prayed and sang songs to the God Jehovah"

Criminal case number:

12002600001000874

Case initiated:

August 7, 2020

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigating:

From the Department of Internal Affairs of the SU IC of Russia in the Rostov region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-20/2022 (1-710/2021)

Court:

Gukovsky City Court of the Rostov region

Judge:

Natalia Batura.