The last word of the defendant Evgeny Zinich in Krasnoyarsk

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Evgeny Zinich in Krasnoyarsk

June 23, 2022

Krasnoyarsk Territory

From the courtroom

Despite the fact that Yevgeny Zinich lost his wife during the court proceedings, he did not become embittered. Addressing the court with the last word, the believer said: "It is not permissible to hate, humiliate or otherwise treat others badly, even if we are being treated unfairly."

Transcript of the court session in the Oktyabrsky District Court of Krasnoyarsk dated 06/23/2022 in the case 1-83/2022 (1-865/2021) on charges of Zinich Evgeny Nikolaevich of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Zinich Evgeny Nikolaevich: Dear court, dear participants in the process! I called my speech: "Your name is written with a capital letter." I will explain this a little later, but at the beginning I would like to express my gratitude.

Dear Natalia Alexandrovna! Thank you for your careful consideration of my case, which gives me hope for a fair verdict. Special thanks for the kindness you have shown by allowing me to accompany my wife to St. Petersburg for treatment! It was very important for Maria and me to spend the last weeks of her life together so that I could take care of her and ease her suffering a little. Such a humane attitude causes me great respect for you!

I also thank the secretary. Your friendly attitude made me feel that even though I was being tried, that in itself did not mean that I was a criminal. Even the guards, checking me at the entrance, found encouraging words for me.

I would like to thank Oksana Vyacheslavovna, the representative of the Prosecutor's Office, for her restraint and politeness. You spoke from an accusatory position, but it always seemed to me that you yourself did not really believe in what you had to voice, and it was inspiring!

Many thanks to my defender Bayzanat Selmurzaevna. Your professionalism helped me to clothe my confidence in innocence in arguments and evidence. It is a great honor for me to have such a competent lawyer!

I want to thank my mother for giving me the precious gift of life, she supplemented it with an example of loyalty to God and tried to raise me as a decent person. I am also grateful to my sister Oksana for her love and support in my difficult circumstances.

My daughter Olya is a real joy to me, not only because she reflects my beloved wife, whom I lost, like in a mirror, but also because she shares my views and values and supports me in all my adventures.

Relatives, friends and co-religionists, colleagues and acquaintances surrounded me with such attention, care and support that this in itself could compensate me for the double sentence requested by the prosecutor's office, thank them very much for this!

And, of course, I am very grateful to God that all this happened in my life, that I was honored to participate in his trial as his Witness!

Now about why I called my speech: "Your name is written with a capital letter." According to the rules of the Russian language, proper names, including people's names, are written with a capital letter. For me, writing a name with a capital letter is also a sign of respect. As a child, my father taught me that everyone has the right to be respected and treated with dignity. And it is respect — I am deeply convinced of this — that is the universal means of protecting a person from extremist views and actions.

After all, someone who respects others will not despise, hate and humiliate, it is alien to him. Such a person will take into account not only his own interests, but also those of others. One day — I was about six years old at that time — my father and I were walking along the sidewalk, and I, looking at my feet, dreamily said: "I wish I could find three rubles now!" My father got angry and said: "In order for you to find money, someone has to lose it!"

I would like to note that the biblical values that were instilled in my family did not differ from the actions of my parents. So, for example, despite the fact that the mother's family — at that time a twelve—year-old girl - was exiled to Siberia, taking away her house and all her property, neither her mother nor her parents were angry at their abusers.

And although later in the family circle they talked about the abuse they faced, there was no hatred, desire for revenge or wishes for any misfortunes to the persecutors in these stories.

My father was sentenced to ten years in prison in his youth for his faith, but remained a very benevolent and empathetic person until the end of his life. When law enforcement officials left after another humiliating search, he did not speak rudely or unkindly about them behind his back.

Unfortunately, my father died with the stigma of a criminal, not having lived to see the time when he and my mother, like thousands of other Jehovah's Witnesses, were rehabilitated.

My wife did not wait for my acquittal either. The worries caused by my criminal prosecution, according to doctors, became one of the reasons for her premature death.

My mother, who is already eighty-three years old, also really wants to live to the time when I, her son, will be acquitted. She is very upset that so many people in power do not want to admit the obvious – my faith excludes extremism — and make great efforts trying to prove the opposite.

But my reserve of trust in people has not run out at all, I am convinced that I not only have to respect others, but also have the right to expect mutual respect for myself, including from the court before which I stand. Respect, which will encourage you, Natalia Alexandrovna, to make a fair decision and protect my good name and my rights from unjustified attacks.

At the same time, I am aware of the seriousness of the situation. I learned from the biblical narrative that the problems began when one of God's spiritual sons rebelled against him. He undermined people's respect for the Creator and convinced them that it was better to simply ignore God. Speaking in the language accepted within the walls of the court, he committed a crime.

In fact, people joined this crime and became its accomplices. This led our forefathers to the loss of eternal life and suffering, and also posed serious questions to their descendants, to each of us:

– Am I ready to respect God, whose personal name is Jehovah, and recognize his authority?

– Will I be guided in making decisions by the moral norms of the Creator, or will I follow the call of Satan to independently determine what is right and what is not?

– Which side will I take in the dispute between God and his opponent, if I have to choose?

– Do I understand the consequences of such a choice for me personally?

Interestingly, the draft decree of the Government of the Russian Federation "On the approval of the Basic Rules of Russian spelling" has been published and is currently under public discussion, which, among other things, says: "It is recommended to write with a capital letter ... God, Lord, Creator, Almighty… Jehovah."

That's right. But will only literacy be reflected in the spelling of God's name and his titles, or will it be complemented by respect for him as our Creator, loving Father and master of the universe?

I am deeply convinced that this trial, in which I am the accused, is part of a drama that played out at the very beginning of human history. Satan, as an opponent of God, spread many different untruths, thoroughly confusing people. Wanting to resolve this situation once and for all, Jehovah provided a lot of time, in fact, several thousand years, so that it became obvious on whose side the truth was and who really deserved to be trusted.

Created in the likeness of God, we are all acutely aware of unfair treatment. And therefore it is not difficult for us to understand why God has come so thoroughly to justify his name. Moreover, his reputation is important for all intelligent creatures as a guideline that allows them to find guidance for a successful life.

How important reputation is, the Bible says: "A good name is more precious than an exquisite fragrance" (Ecclesiastes 7:1, edited by Kulakov). Reputation is the foundation of trust. Trust in the surgeon who operates on us, in the judge who reviews our case, and in general to any person on whose decision our lives sometimes depend.

But our life depends most of all on who gave it to us and who can take it away — from the Almighty. It is not for nothing that the Holy Scriptures speak of people "whose names are written in the book of life" (Letter of the Apostle Paul to Philippians 4:3, New Russian translation). And if someone's name is written there, then undoubtedly with a capital letter, in order to give this person a truly great future!

Undoubtedly, God's willingness to tolerate evil and untruth for quite a long time reflects his respect for everyone – both for people who need time to understand what is happening and who is worthy of trust, and for Satan, God's opponent, because he was given a lot of time to prove the correctness of his position.

As a result, we are witnessing a world that is suffering because it has rejected God's guidance. Suspicion and strife, hatred and conflict, violence and cruelty. All this is a consequence of such a choice. I think you, Natalia Alexandrovna, as a judge, know much better about this side of the issue – how important it is to find time to carefully weigh everything, figure it out and make a decision - than many others. And the decisions that have to be made may not be as easy as we would like, as they bring with them a heavy burden of responsibility.

In this regard, I recall the situation in which the Roman ruler Pontius Pilate found himself. This is how the Apostle John describes it, when Jesus Christ, judged by Pilate, did not answer any of his questions:

"Then Pilate said, 'Are you refusing to talk to me? Do you know that it is in my power to let You go and in my power to crucify You?" Jesus replied, "You would have no power over Me if it had not been given to you by God. Therefore, the one who betrayed Me to you is guilty of an even greater sin." Upon hearing these words, Pilate tried to find a way to free Jesus, but the Jewish leaders shouted: "If you release Him, then you are not Caesar's friend. Anyone who declares himself a king is against the emperor!"" (John 19:9-11, translated by the Biblical League of ERV).

It is clear from this case that the burden of responsibility in sentencing is not easy, especially considering that we all stand before God, and regardless of whether we know him by name or not.

And the respect that God shows, of course, does not mean that he will endure evil forever. The Bible teaches that God will soon cleanse the earth of evil and injustice and will certainly restore his respected name and the good names of those who suffered in the historical drama.

However, no matter how life develops now and whatever happens to us in this life, as believers we must respect and love everyone. It is unacceptable to hate, humiliate, or otherwise treat others badly, even if we are being treated unfairly.

This is how it is written about it in the Bible: "Do not avenge yourself, my beloved, but leave everything to the wrath of God. For it is written: "My retribution. I will repay," says the Lord (Letter to Romans 12:19, translated by Kulakov).

Moreover, the Bible urges: "Do not be friends with someone who has a short temper, do not approach someone who quickly falls into anger. If you communicate with him, you can become the same, and the same troubles will befall you" (Proverbs 22:24, 25; translated by the Bible League ERV). These and many other biblical attitudes make extremism simply unacceptable behavior for a Christian.

Accordingly, the accusation of extremism against me, as well as against my other co-religionists, is not justified and does not correspond to reality.

Therefore, I want to emphasize once again, dear Natalia Alexandrovna, that your name is written with a capital letter, which means that you, as a person in authority, can make an informed decision that will fully restore justice.

The arguments that all my actions have nothing to do with an imputed crime, but only are the realization of my rights to religious life guaranteed to me by the legislation of the Russian Federation, my lawyer and I explained in detail to the court. I'm sure they're more than convincing.

Please excuse me.

Summary of the case

Region:

Krasnoyarsk Territory

Locality:

Krasnoyarsk

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, "he committed organizational actions aimed at continuing the illegal activities of Jehovah's Witnesses, expressed in the leadership of the specified organization"

Criminal case number:

12102040005000007

Case initiated:

January 21, 2021

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigating:

The Main Investigative Department of the Russian 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:

1-83/2022 (1-865/2021)

Court:

Oktyabrsky District Court of Krasnoyarsk

Judge:

Natalia Nikolaeva.