The last word of the defendant Vladimir Vasiliev in Kirov

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Vladimir Vasiliev in Kirov

May 23, 2022

Kirov region

From the courtroom

"Being a Jehovah's Witness is not a crime," the defendant stressed. He explained that Jehovah's Witnesses tell people about God, his qualities and promises, as well as his Kingdom. "This is a manifestation of love, and certainly not a continuation of the activities of a banned organization," the believer noted.

Transcript of the court session in Pervomaisky district Court of Kirov dated 05/23/2022 on the case 1-2/2022 (1-5/2021; 1-123/2020) according to the accusation of Vasilyev Vladimir Petrovich and others. of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Part 1 of Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Vasiliev Vladimir Petrovich:

Your Honor, I want to start right away on the merits of my case. I'm being accused of a crime I didn't commit. What was established during the investigation? There is not a single proof of my guilt, there are no victims, there are not even offended. In fact, the totality of the evidence presented in the case includes only information that I profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Is it a crime to read the Bible, talk about what is written in it and communicate with those who love God?

I have been studying the Bible for 28 years now and am becoming more and more convinced of its authenticity and usefulness, and I have also begun to understand deep biblical truths. For example, I realized that the meaning of life is not to plant a tree, give birth to a son and build a house. Although all of the above is not bad, God promises much more, namely eternal life for people who obey him in excellent conditions, where "none of the inhabitants will say, 'I am sick'; sins will be forgiven to the people living there" (Isaiah 33:24). "And they will build houses and live in and plant vineyards and eat their fruits. They will not build for another to live, they will not plant for another to eat... they will not labor in vain and bear children on the mountain; for they will be a seed blessed from the Lord, and their descendants with them" (Isaiah 65:21-23).

However, in the Bible, in the Gospel of John, chapter 17, verse 3, it says: "This is eternal life, so that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You sent." See, the Bible talks about eternal life and how to achieve it. Look, people spend huge amounts of money to prolong their life and beauty for at least a short period of time, and the Bible says that knowledge about God and his son Jesus Christ can give eternal life. Imagine eternal life in excellent conditions and with excellent health! Build any house you want, plant any trees! Now we can't afford it — someone has limited funds, someone does not have enough time, and we are limited by age. In addition, we all get sick, grow old and die because of the sin of the first human couple. But soon it will be a thing of the past.

You can believe this promise of God or, conversely, not believe it. But the Bible says that God has already taken the main step to realize his plan. This is the coming of Jesus Christ, who gave his life for people, including each of us sitting in this hall. Adam, by his disobedience, sold us into slavery to sin and death, died himself and passed sin, imperfection and death on to his descendants, including us, that is, to all mankind. But Jesus redeemed us by his death and showed us the most excellent way to eternal life. I, like other disciples of Jesus Christ, by reading everything that is written in the Bible, learn to live as Jesus commanded. Can this be called a crime?

Many have heard the words of Jesus, which are called the "golden rule." These words sound like this: "Therefore, in all things, as you want people to do to you, so do you to them; for this is the law and the prophets" (Matthew 7:12). I try to do exactly that. That's why I behave respectfully towards other people. Is this extremism?

When Jesus was asked which of all the existing commandments is the most important, he drew attention to two: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart… The second is like her, love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:28-33). But how did Jesus show love for his neighbor? First of all, by telling people about the Kingdom of God and what it would do in the future. Jesus commanded his disciples to do the same, saying, "Go and teach all nations ... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world" (Matthew 28:19, 20). The Gospel of Luke 10:1 says: "After this, the Lord also chose seventy other disciples, and sent them two by two before His face to every city and place where he himself wanted to go." He commanded: "Tell them, The kingdom of God has come near to you" (Luke 10:9). It follows from these words that it is not a crime to talk to people about the qualities and promises of God, about his Kingdom. This is the duty of every Christian, regardless of his religion, it is a manifestation of love, and certainly not a continuation of the activities of a banned organization.

The Supreme Court has liquidated legal entities, it's true. But it is also true that the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses was not banned, and believers remained. They have not disappeared, and their love for God has not disappeared. Meeting ordinary people united by faith in God Jehovah is treated as a crime. And this is similar to how Jesus Christ was treated. He was not executed for a crime. He didn't do anything wrong. He taught people kindness, love, and obedience to Jehovah God. He said that under the rule of the Kingdom of God there would be no disease, death, suffering. He confirmed all this by deeds, healing and resurrecting people. But how did people react to this? Some were grateful to him and reached out to him, while others set out to kill him. I'm not doing anything wrong either, and they want to convict me as a criminal, even though I didn't do any harm to anyone, neither to people nor to the state.

Being a Jehovah's Witness is not a crime. A Jehovah's witness is someone who testifies (tells) about God. And it is an honor for me to be called by his name, to be righteous in the eyes of Jehovah God and his Son, Jesus Christ.

In December 2018, President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin met with members of the Human Rights Council, who spoke out about the illegal persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses. The first person of the state to this complaint said: "Jehovah's Witnesses are also Christians, I also do not know why they should be persecuted… This needs to be dealt with." And you, dear court, have the opportunity to sort out this multi-volume case. Article 5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation states: "A person is subject to criminal liability only for those socially dangerous actions in respect of which his guilt has been established." The conclusion is obvious: no evidence— no guilt.

The court is rightly called the conscience of the state. I would really like the verdict in this trial to strengthen confidence in the entire judicial system, showing that punishment is imposed only for real crimes, as it should be in a State governed by the rule of law.

In view of the above, I ask you, Your Honor, to terminate this criminal case for lack of corpus delicti, to pass an acquittal and rid me of this undeserved label of an "extremist".

Thanks to all the participants in the process.

Summary of the case

Region:

Kirov region

Locality:

Kirov

What is suspected:

According to the investigation, "meetings of followers and participants of the said association [Jehovah's Witnesses] were organized in various apartments in compliance with the actions characteristic of this association, expressed in joint singing of biblical songs, improving skills in carrying out missionary activities, studying religious literature, the so-called "Holy Scripture" (Bible), which is part of the The Federal list of extremist materials containing the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses."

Criminal case number:

11802330022000044

Case initiated:

October 3, 2018

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigating:

SU IC of the Russian Federation in the Kirov region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1), 282.3 (1), 282.2 (2)

The number of the case in court:

1-2/2022 (1-5/2021; 1-123/2020)

Court of first instance:

Pervomaisky District Court of Kirov

Judge of the Court of first instance:

Timur Yusupov