"Try playing 'joy,' too": The co-chair of Golos made his final statement in court.

Grigory Melkonyants He believes the criminal case is based not on evidence, but on the investigators' assumptions. He emphasized that even the responses from official bodies attest to his innocence: for example, representatives of the Ministry of Justice stated in court that the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations had no branches in Russia (while the prosecution insists that the Golos movement was the branch). Furthermore, the Ministry of Justice's response indicates that the Golos movement's activities were not deemed "undesirable." 

“The investigators have constructed a unique situation,” сказал he. "For the first time in the history of our country, they want to make the meeting room of the Central Electoral Commission of Russia the scene of the crime, and declare the expert who spoke there the criminal."

Melkonyants recalled that he dedicated 12 years of his life to the "Golos" movement, and during these years, hundreds of thousands of honest people have become observers, continuing to defend electoral rights and observe elections with enormous benefit to Russia. He urged people not to give up and to enjoy life.

"Try playing 'joy,' too. After all, if you think about it, each of us only has the present moment we're living, and there's no other time when life isn't 'this moment.' And it doesn't matter where you are at this moment: at home or abroad, on vacation or at work, in your apartment or in a traffic jam, at a polling station or in a prison cell—you need to live this very moment with joy and positivity. Only now exists, that's why it's called 'the present.'" Melkonyants said.

The court will announce the verdict on May 14.