Biography
Valery Moskalenko was detained on August 2, 2018 in Khabarovsk as a result of searches in at least four houses of civilians. He was placed in a pre-trial detention center, where he spent more than a year just because of his faith in Jehovah God.
Valery was born in Khabarovsk in 1967. By profession, he is an assistant driver of an electric locomotive. Since childhood, the boy felt an urgent need for justice, which is why at an older age he began to seek God. Since the early 1990s, faith in God has become an important part of his life.
Valery loves to travel, listen to music and even play the trumpet himself. His many friends say that he is responsive and always ready to help. Before his imprisonment in the pre-trial detention center, Valery lived with his elderly mother and provided her with daily care, which she desperately needed. During his arrest, she became ill and had to call an ambulance. Everyone who knows Valeriy is shocked that he was convicted on an absurd charge. The believer does not agree with the verdict and will appeal it to the European Court.
Case History
On November 5, 2019, the Khabarovsk Regional Court handed down the final verdict in the case of Valeriy Moskalenko - a fine of 500,000 rubles. Previously, the Zheleznodorozhny District Court sentenced the peaceful believer to 2 years and 2 months of forced labor and 6 months of restricted freedom. The believer was charged under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code on the grounds that on April 21, 2018, he, “acting intentionally”, “with observance of conspiracy measures”, participated in a worship service of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The believer was thrown behind bars in August 2018 after the Khabarovsk FSB searched Valeriy’s home in his absence. For more than a year, the elderly single mother was deprived of her son’s support. In court, the expert stated that the words from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, which Moskalenko discussed among fellow believers, “are evidence of exclusivity propaganda and a call to continue the activities of a banned organization.” The prosecution also relied on the testimony of a witness, who stated in court that he did not know Valeriy and did not sign the interrogation protocol. The believer does not agree with the verdict and is appealing to the European Court of Human Rights.
