I place my hand over the Bible, thumb extending gracefully down to stroke its stiff, leathery spine. It has clearly never been flipped open, a muted voice.

“I swear by Almighty God that all I say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” A fluid stream of words slips past my lips.

The Judge ruffles a stack of papers on his table, and then squints down at me through a stern pair of glasses.

“Mr. Ivan Petrov, you are accused of having been a KGB informant between the years 1960 and 1968, causing a total of 65 innocent persons to be wrongfully persecuted by the Soviet authorities. What have you got to say for yourself?”

I look him straight in the eye.

“I have been falsely accused.”