The last word of the defendant Vladimir Ermolaev in Chita

 RUSSIA 

The last word of the defendant Vladimir Ermolaev in Chita

May 20, 2022

Trans-Baikal Territory

From the courtroom

Addressing the court, the believer consistently refuted the accusation and, using historical examples and quotations, showed why extremism is alien to the worldview of every Jehovah's Witness. According to the defendant, even the investigator understood this.

Transcript of the court session in the Central District Court of Chita dated 05/20/2022 in the case 1-10/2022 (1-360/2021) on charges of Ermolaev Vladimir Vladimirovich and others. of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Ermolaev Vladimir Vladimirovich:

Dear Court, I am grateful for the opportunity to speak with the last word, this is the last opportunity for me to reach the minds and hearts of the participants in the process.

It may sound strange to some, but I am proud to stand here in court and speak before you, because during this time I have remained faithful to my God and even increased my faith. Moreover, I am sure that the biblical prophecy of our Lord Jesus Christ is being fulfilled at this moment: "You will be brought to judgment before rulers and kings, because you are My disciples, so that you can testify about Me before them..." (Matthew 10:18, translated by the Biblical League of ERV).

As a Jehovah's Witness, I have great respect for the Bible and consider it not just a book, but the Word of God for humanity. For me, the Bible is a kind of "user's guide to life." I live by the Bible. And now I will try to explain that the Bible does not teach extremism, just as it is alien to me.

To do this, I wish to separate the official part of the case from the actual one in the last word. Officially, I am being tried for extremism under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. And an exhaustive list of all extremist actions is prescribed in the Federal Law "On Countering Extremist Activities." Officially, I am accused of some of them, for example:

forcible change of the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation;

stirring up religious strife;

propaganda of exclusivity, superiority of a person on the basis of his religious affiliation or attitude to religion.

This is all the official part. Now let's look at the actual one. Could I go against the foundations of the main law of the state, in fact, against the government?

The letter of the Apostle Paul to the Romans, chapter 3, verses 1 and 2: "Every person must obey the ruling authority, because there is no authority that is not established by God. All existing authorities are established by God. Therefore, whoever rebels against the government, rebels against the established by God, and whoever does so, brings judgment upon himself" (New Russian translation).

And here is Peter's First Letter, chapter 2, verse 13: "For the sake of the Lord, obey all authority established by people, whether it be the emperor as the highest authority" (New Russian translation).

So, what do we have? The Bible teaches that rebelling against authority is wrong, but obeying authority is right. Moreover, in Peter's First Letter, chapter 3, verses 14 and 15, it says: "But if you suffer for the truth, then blessed are you. But do not be afraid of their fear, and do not be confused; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Be always ready to give an answer to anyone who demands an account of your hope, with meekness and respect" (The New Testament of the Russian Orthodox Church, 1824). As you can see, the Bible teaches not only to be obedient to authority, but also to treat it with respect, which is what I do as a Christian, and it has not been proven otherwise.

Could I incite religious strife or propagandize the superiority of a person on the basis of religion? Let's look at the factual side of the question: what does the Bible teach? Peter's first letter, chapter 2, verse 17: "Treat everyone with respect, love your fellow believers, be in awe of God, honor the tsar" (translated by the Kulakovs). Elsewhere in the Bible, in the Letter to the Galatians, chapter 6, verse 10, it says: "So, since we have the opportunity, we will do good to all people..." (translated by the Bible League ERV). So, the Bible says "treat everyone with reverence," or with respect. And to do good to all people, not just to co-religionists, because we all walk under God.

Jehovah's Witnesses have always maintained these qualities. Even in the most difficult circumstances of life, Jehovah's Witnesses did not lose respect for others. These are not my words, these are the words of the German politician Steffen Reiche, a member of the German parliament, he said: "Jehovah's Witnesses in camps and prisons showed qualities that are important today no less than in the past for the existence of a democratic constitutional state. Namely, they steadfastly withstood the pressure of the SS and showed compassion to other prisoners. Given the increasing intolerance of our society towards foreigners, as well as towards people holding other political or ideological views, these qualities have become absolutely necessary for every citizen of our country today."

And here's what Tarsiss Seminega, an eyewitness to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and a lecturer at the National University in Butara, said about Jehovah's Witnesses. He wrote a memoir, "There is no Greater Love — how my family survived the genocide in Rwanda." In them, he described how for 75 days he was sheltered by what he called "Hutu rescuers." These rescuers were Jehovah's Witnesses who protected not only their co-religionists, but also other people.

Jehovah's Witnesses, including me, live by the standards of God and do not harm others, do not rebel against the state and do not incite religious strife. All I did was peacefully exercise my right to Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. All that is in the materials of the criminal case is proof of my religious affiliation. There are no victims there, because not a single extremist act has been committed.

The whole logic of the accusation, Your Honor, is based on the fictitious thesis that faith in Jehovah God is "a continuation of the activities of an extremist organization." And instead of looking for evidence of extremism and my guilt in it, the prosecutor's office was busy proving that I profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, although the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not prohibit it.

Thus, I was driven into the position of zugzwang: no matter what you do as a Jehovah's Witness, you are still committing a crime. One way out is to give up faith. But this is not the way out, it is impossible! This means that I will believe and I will be judged for it.

All over the world, Jehovah's Witnesses are known as good citizens. The OSCE, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Committee of Ministers of Europe, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, observers of the EU Parliamentary Assembly, the EU Foreign Policy Service, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, many prominent public figures of Russia — all of them condemned the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. And after the stories I've told above, it's even a shame to blame Jehovah's Witnesses. After all, my religion brings only good to others.

I have already quoted verses from the Bible and said that for me it is a guide in life. I will briefly tell you why I feel this way about the Bible. The thing is that its author is God Jehovah. The case file contains a religious studies study by specialist Schiller, where he states: "The use of the name "Jehovah" instead of the word "God" is specific to Jehovah's Witnesses ... Practically no Christian denomination uses the word "Jehovah" as a synonym for the word "God"." I will correct this misunderstanding and clarify it.

The name of God Jehovah was known and used by many prominent people, here is only a very small proportion of such people: Nikolai Karamzin, Fyodor Glinka, Alexander Pushkin, Ivan Turgenev, Apollon Grigoriev, Vasily Zhukovsky, Hippolytus Theologian-Platonov, Leo Tolstoy, Alexei Tolstoy, Vladimir Dahl, Athanasius Fet, Metropolitan Filaret, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Anton Chekhov, Alexander Kuprin, Sergey Yesenin, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Marina Tsvetaeva, Nikolai Ostrovsky.

Among these people were Orthodox Christians, and even a master of theology. The Orthodox encyclopedia says that Jehovah is the name of God. Many Bible translations, such as the Synodal Translation, the Translation of Archimandrite Makarii, the Modern Translation, the "Old Testament — translation from Hebrew", Semantic Translation, the New Testament in modern Russian translation, the New Geneva Study Bible, the Explanatory Bible, the Shifman translation, the Averintsev translation, the Jewish New Testament and others, all mention the name "Jehovah."

And the easiest way, Your Honor: if you write "the meaning of the name Jesus" in the search bar of an Internet browser, then in the very first article you can see that the name Jesus consists of two words "Jehovah" and "salvation", that is, "salvation in Jehovah". It's that simple. Even the name "Jesus" itself speaks to the importance of the name "Jehovah". Remember the prayer "Our Father." Jesus Christ in this prayer, at the very beginning, said: "Our Father is in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name" (Matthew 6:9). Jesus Christ taught about the importance of the Father's name, the name "Jehovah".

And now we have seen that the name "Jehovah" is a very important name. It is important for Jesus Christ, and therefore for his followers. It is also important for me, a peaceful Christian.

Even Investigator Zhuravlev realized at some point that I was a peaceful Christian, not a criminal, not an extremist. After all, if I am really a dangerous extremist, then why did I wait for the trial not in jail, but at large? The measure of restraint was mitigated not by the court, but by the investigator. He took the initiative and released me from house arrest on my own recognizance. Even the investigator realized that I posed no danger to society or the state. I hope, Your Honor, that you have already understood this too.

But if not, well, it's a pity, of course. But my faith won't get any less. It cannot be spoiled, my faith lives inside me, lives in my heart. Do you want to deprive me of faith? Then rip out my heart. And that won't take away my faith— it will take away my life, yes, but not my faith.

I want to say that even if a guilty verdict is passed against me, this will not stop me from believing in Jehovah God. If the court decides to deprive me of my freedom, I will go to prison as a Jehovah's Witness and come out of it as a Jehovah's Witness! And it may even happen, Your Honor, that you put one Jehovah's Witness in prison, and more than one will come out. After all, if someone in prison is interested in my beliefs, and they will be interested, I will not be silent, I will speak.

In the end, I will briefly tell you the last story. Walking through various government agencies, I noticed one similarity. The flag and coat of arms of the Russian Federation, as well as the coats of arms of state structures, hang everywhere. And many of them depict St. George the Victorious, so even in the courtroom there is an image of him. And who was George the Victorious? You don't need to go far for an answer, just look at his life.

It says that he was born in the III century AD into a wealthy military family in the city of Cappadocia, which was under Roman rule. George joined the military service of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. The emperor was not a Christian, he was a pagan. Over time, George realized that his faith — and he was a Christian — contradicted the military way of life. Christians were persecuted at that time, now they would say "criminal prosecution".

Diocletian found out that George was a Christian and tortured him for 8 days, suggesting that he renounce his beliefs and, obviously, turn over other Christians. Now they would say "I was conducting investigative actions." George refused and was executed. Why was George executed? For a crime committed? No. He was executed for not giving up his beliefs.

Dear court, forgive me, of course, but it is obvious that something similar is happening today. Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, who also do not renounce their beliefs, retain faith in the living God Jehovah, are judged for this. I ask you, Your Honor, to make a fair, impartial decision based on the law and your conscience, and to acquit me.

Summary of the case

Region:

Trans-Baikal Territory

Locality:

Chita

What is suspected of:

According to the investigation, "he took active organizational actions expressed in the organization of meetings, the organization of religious performances and worship services fundraising under the guise of donations the involvement of new participants by carrying out preaching activities."

Criminal case number:

12002760023000001

Case initiated:

January 20, 2020

Current stage of the case:

The verdict has entered into force

Investigating:

SU IC of the Russian Federation in the Trans-Baikal Territory

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-10/2022

The Court of First Instance:

The Central District Court of Chita

Judge of the Court of First instance:

Marina Kuklina

[i18n] State Prosecutor:

Kovylchenko D. G.