Russian Court Convicts Jehovah's Witness To Three Years In Prison For Faith

On March 30, 2021, Yershov was formally charged based on video recordings made by a person who pretended to be interested in studying the Bible but used those recordings to hand over to the FSB (Russia’s secret police). Practicing their faith as one of Jehovah's’ Witnesses is illegal in Russia since the Bible Student group was officially banned in the country in 2017, following in the steps of Hitler and the Soviet Union.

On June 22, 2021, his criminal case was submitted to the Severskiy City Court of the Tomsk Region until the recent sentencing of 3 years in prison.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to today's show. You guys, I'm your host, Joseph Bonner.
Thank you so much for being on today's program. Today,
we're going to be talking about a court case out
of Russia that once again lends itself to legal action
by the United Nations and international community, as Russia has
once again defied human rights articles as well as defied

(00:23):
probings and pushings and proddings by the United States and
Great Britain to eliminate and to cease religious persecution and
bias in their region towards religious minority groups, including Jehoah's Witnesses.
They have ignored those probbings, those warnings, and this article
again is not only set to address the situation on hand,

(00:47):
as indicated by today's show title, but also to kind
of address the situation as a whole. Once this report
is completely will be sending this report internationally around the
world to ensure that the proper legal hands receive this report,
and we are encouraging them to take immediate action to

(01:09):
eliminate the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses under the Russian Federation.
And so let's go ahead and jump right into the case. Now,
a Russian court convicts Jehovah's Whinness to three years in
prison for his faith. So Russia has been engaged in
religious persecution against jehoah Winnesses for sometime now, we can

(01:32):
even date it back to the time of the Soviet Union,
but more recently, since around two thousand and seven, the
government has intensified its efforts to to really create a
one country faith, you know, the Russian Orthodox Church, and
so any religion that's not the Russian Orthodox Church has

(01:53):
faced persecution. Jehovah's witnesses have faced a brunt end of
that persecution, many of them being sent to Russian concentration camps,
being thrown into prison, all simply for you know, practicing
their faith and reading the Bible. And we're going to
just jump right into this particular case. It's it's very

(02:13):
appalling because the persecution is not only targeted just Jehovah's witnesses,
I mean men, women, children, elderly, they don't care have
been subjected to beatings and interrogations and to torture. It's
absolutely sick and disheartening that this is the world that
we live in in twenty twenty two, and yet the
Russian Federation claims to be a democracy when clearly is

(02:35):
practicing the exact same regimen as Hitler did when he was,
you know, exercising his authority and power. And before we
jump into the into this particular case, I do guys
want you to bear in mind that Hitler got his
power from the Vatican period. He was able to rise
in power and prominence because the Vatican Church are quote

(02:57):
unquote what you guys term, and you know who I'm
talking talking about. If I say you guys, you guys
call the Holy See. They endorsed him and supported him,
and that's how he rose to so much power. Once
he gained that power, influence and influence, he used that
to eliminate the Catholic competition, which means any religious organization
that was not Catholic period. Hince, he attacked the Jews,

(03:21):
hence he attacked Jehovah's witnesses, hence he attacked Muslims. He
went after everybody who were not part of the Roman
Catholic Church, and he got his backing and support from
the Roman Catholic Church. Hitler did and to this day,
the Roman Catholic Church has not paid for those crimes.
And now today twenty twenty two, and we see history
repeats itself. The Russian Federation is doing the exact same

(03:42):
thing Hitler did, exact same thing. And who are they
getting their power and authority from. Who's pulling the strings
behind the Russian Federation. It's not Putin. No, Putin is
a puppet. And I'll say that again, Putin is a puppet.
The strings are being pushed and pulled by the Russian
Orthodox Church. They're the real leaders of the Russian Federation,

(04:04):
not Valdimir Putin. He's not the leader. No, they're influencing
him and whatever they say to do, he does. And
through the hit their power, his influence has grown as well.
And this is why you continue to see all religious
roots who are not Russian Orthodox Christians under the Russian
Federation being persecuted, including Jehovah's witnesses. So again, just like

(04:27):
the Holy See, the Vatican was pushing the you know,
using Hitler to to kind of carry out their agenda,
the Russian Catholic sorry, the Russian Orthodox Church is doing
the exact same thing. And isn't it true? And before
we jump into the story, and I know I'm kind
of digressing because I'm just I feel so passionate about this,

(04:50):
you guys, And I do my research. I do my study.
You guys know, I do my footwork. So I'm not stupid.
I've looked in the history books. I know what's up. Okay.
So I say all that to lead this discussion with
this simple fact. Isn't it true that you know, usually
when we hear situations like, oh, you know, the police
have caught you know, a string of human traffickers. You know,

(05:12):
they got about fifty people and they were able to
release light twenty kids, right, and that's good. I love
to hear news like that. But the reality is is
these people that are getting caught are puppets. They're not
the masterminds behind the organization. They're not the masterminds behind it,
because if they were, it would stop. But it doesn't.
It continues to get worse, indicating that the police are

(05:35):
only getting the puppets behind the scenes, or not getting
the masterminds. So when Hitler was killed, like duh, he
was just a puppet. Anyways, who was the mastermind? It
was the Holy see it was a Roman Catholic church.
But there, you know, they're smart, they know how to
play politics, so they were able to easily, you know,
separate themselves from him when things started to get too rough.
Oh okay, he's not winning. Okay, now the world's coming

(05:57):
out of Let's throw him under the bus and we
get away, you know, Scott Freetz and such has been
the case. They haven't had to pay for their crimes
against Jewish people, they haven't had to pay for their
crimes against humanity because their puppet paid the crimes. And
so we see the same thing happening with the Russian
Orthodox Church. Putin is a puppet, and when the world

(06:18):
turns on him, just like they turned on Hitler, the
Russian Orthodox Church will be like, oh, we didn't know,
we weren't a part of that. It's the same game,
you guys. It's all in the history books. Putin is
a puppet. Now. I say all that before I jump
into this, because you guys know I don't play when
it comes to human rights issues. I've been covering human

(06:40):
rights issues for several years now, and you guys know
I'm not, like I said twenty twenty two, this is
not the year I'm playing with nobody. I'm calling it out.
Come get me. If you think you're crazy enough to anyways.
So now let's get back into the case. Wo y'all
see I got me. Oh, y'all got me. I'm live it.
Take a little sip of my coffee. Let's get into
this case. You got okay? Now, On January nineteen, twenty

(07:02):
twenty two, okay Sideveritsky, City of Tomsk Region in Russia
convicted Alexei Yrshul to three years in prison to begin immediately,
for practicing his faith as one of Jehovah's witnesses. Now
we're gonna break down the timeline of events. So he's
been recently sentenced to three years in prison for practicing
his faith. That's what of Jehovah's witnesses. But again, you guys,

(07:26):
he's just one individual. There's there's hundreds of Jehovah's witnesses
currently facing legal prosecution and impossible prison because of Russia's
refusal to accept international human rights articles. In their absolute
refusal and defiance to abide by international laws that they
themselves signed up to abide by. Absolutely ridiculous. So let

(07:49):
me just break down the timeline of Alexi so that
you guys can you know, just kind of get a
good grasp of his of his situation. Anyways, on July fourteen,
two thousand two, the FSB Russian Secret Police, which what
it is, the FSB. This is how you know, Putin
knows what's going on. So they actually did an investigation
committee and they sent some agents to invade Alexiki's home

(08:12):
for seven hours. Now, when they were doing that, officers
were confiscated bank cards, electronic devices, his Bible, this passport,
as well as wife by Routers now obviously taking such
action as taking his passport. These actions prevented him from
seeking refugee asylum in places like the United States in
Great Britain who have taken hundreds of refugees from Russia

(08:37):
who were fleeing religious oppression since twenty and fifteen. Now,
on March thirty of twenty twenty one, Yrshov was formally
charged based on video recordings made by a person who
pretended to be interested in studying the Bible, and this
individual use those recordings to hand over to the FSB.
Are the Russian secret police now practicing their faith. That's

(08:58):
one of Jehovah' Whenna says is illegal in Russia since
the Bible student group was officially banned in the country
in twenty seventeen. Now again this is following the same
steps of Hitler and the Soviet Union. They also banned
Jehovah's witnesses, They threw them in concentration camps and then
eventually they were no more so a similar thing Russia. Valdimapuutin,
he's following the same steps as his predecessors. Follow the

(09:22):
same steps as Hitler, same steps as the Soviet Union
persecuted Litimanority. Until everybody gets crazy, it comes after him,
and then he'll be gone too. Now, on June twenty second,
twenty twenty one, again your show's criminal case was submitted
to the Sidevitsky City Court of Thompsk Region until his
recent sentencing of three years in prison. Now you may think, oh,

(09:45):
three years in prison, not that big of a deal,
but it is a big deal because again Russia continues
to violate international laws that they themselves signed up to,
a bide by, in violation of human rights articles, treaties
that they've signed. It's absolutely appalling that they have not
yet been held accountable for their actions. And I get
the fact. I understand that people play politics. You try

(10:07):
to play nice and you say, okay, well, let's try
to give you a nice probing and encouragement, but at
the cost of human rights. It's absolutely sickening to think
that this is the world that we're living in in
twenty twenty two, where people have political alliances and alliances
with individuals and entities that continue to violate human rights
and the rights of their citizens illegally, and yet no

(10:29):
one says anything, really, And the United Nations ought to
be ashamed of themselves. And yes, I said what I
said that the fact that Russia is still part of
the United Nations. How is an organization that ignores its
articles and its treaties at its signs through the UN
still a part of the organization? And the UN says nothing. Appalling, despicable, disgraceful.

(10:53):
They ought to be ashamed of themselves as well. And
I say complicit because if you ain't saying nothing and
you're not doing nothing, and you're not standing against it,
then you're complicit. You're just as guilty. Let me take
a little coff of myself in my coffee. I should
probably drinking the tea right now, you guys, because you
know when I do these cases, I get so upset
hold on, I'm telling y'all, let me calm down. Love

(11:17):
it now. I want you guys to get to know
this situation in detail. So if you think I'm lying,
if you think I'm joking, just do your own research,
just do a little bit of digging in Russia and
their human rights violations, their religious persecution violation. If you
think I'm the only one speaking on this, you're mistaken.
This has been covered in international media outlets for several years.

(11:38):
I'm the only one, though, that's putting the dots together
and saying, guess what, it's just like Hitler, just like
the Soviet Union. They're doing the exact same thing. Putin's
being a puppet for the Russian Orthodox Church. And I'm
not the only ones saying that though. Actually I've seen
some other media outlets jump into that. I want to
see the New York Times, but don't quote me on that.
It's one of those major media outlets that I also
confirmed what I've been saying for the past several years.

(11:59):
So shout out to them, whoever you are, because you
know who you are. The point is, you, guys, is
that human rights violations will continue to happen uninterrupted unless
people are brave enough to say something and to do something.
You guys already know I'm not the one. This is
not the year, and I'm not letting anybody. When I

(12:21):
say anybody, I mean this with great passion and seriousness.
I will let no one, no one get away with
human rights violations if these cases are brought to my
attention period, I'm not the one. We will come for
you legally as need be. And so those of you

(12:43):
guys who know and I say those of you guys,
those of you entities who know what I'm talking about
and know the facts behind this situation, I want you
to take this full report. I want you to go
over and do your due diligence and do some research,
and then I want you to use the power of
theory that hasn't been invested into you you and make
something happen. Don't just talk about it, be about it.

(13:04):
Too much talking. That's what the United Nations is. They talk, talk, talk,
Oh my goodness, they talk so much. Stop talking and
do something. Hey, I want to talk. Let's have a
meeting about this, and a meeting about that, and a
meeting meeting meeting. What you meeting about? Dang, do something. Shoot,
all these dumb meetings and you ain't even me, you
ain't even saying nothing. Ooh, okay, see you guys. Why

(13:28):
y'all gotta be doing these court cases this late at night?
Oh man, I'm just tired of it. And I'm so
sick of just people's defiance to law in order and
and laws that they themselves have set up and promised to.
It'd be different if they were like, Okay, well we

(13:48):
don't we didn't sign this treaty, or we just we're
not a democracy, or you know. It'd be different if
they would just be honest and be like, Okay, well no,
we're just not going to do that. We never said
we would. Then I probably would say less. I would
still say something, but I would say less. But the
fact that you're being fake and fronting like you're holier

(14:10):
than thou and yet hiding behind religious bigotry and racism
and false ideologies and a pretense that you're obeying the law,
it irritates me to know. And I can't stand fake people.
I can't stand fake organizations. And I don't care who
you are. If you're fake, I can't stand you. I

(14:32):
don't like you. If you're fake. And if you come
over here with some fakeness to me and my profile
and on my comments and I read it and discovered
I'm coming for you legally. Period. Let this be awarded
to anybody who thinks you're going to come at me,
or come at anybody that I love or care about,
or anything that I love and care about, especially human rights,

(14:54):
and get away with it. You've lost your mind because
I'm not the one. This isn't the year. Test me
on it if you want to. All right, you guys, Now,
typically when I do these reports, I do try to
keep a little professional. I do try to keep my
emotions in check, but sometimes I, like you know what,
it's hard, Okay. Anyways, for the full report, you guys,

(15:21):
You guys can check out Courtmagazine dot org. You'll also
be able to find this full report and Legend magazine
as well as well as Women's Wellbeing Magazine and a
multiple other scores of magazines that this article will be
published in. If you're listening to this podcast, thank you
so much for joining today's show. Please continue to follow
me again Joseph Bonner at mister Joseph Bonner on Instagram

(15:41):
Official Joseph Bonner on Facebook, Twitter I think is mister
Joseph Bonner and then LinkedIn Joseph Bonner. So you guys
know who I am and if you don't, you better
ask somebody. Okay, that being the case, you guys, much love,
much success to you continue to fight for human rights
by taking a stand in your own special way, and
that is by obeying, obeying the laws of the land

(16:04):
as they are stipulated, and doing the right thing. Is
that too much to ask of humanity right now? Is
it too much? I don't think it is. Until next time,
you guys, I'm your host, Joseph Bonner saying stay safe.