Biography
In April 2019, a criminal case was opened against Valeriy Maletskov from Novosibirsk under an extremist article for reading the Bible and praying to Jehovah God. His house was searched, after which the man was under house arrest for six months. After almost two years of trials, the believer was sentenced to 6 years in prison.
Valeriy was born in 1974 in Novosibirsk, where he lived all his life. He was the only child in the family. As a child, he had many hobbies: radio engineering, playing the guitar, photography, chess, as well as several sports, the main of which was fencing in which he received a sports category.
As a teenager, Valeriy became seriously interested in the spiritual. In particular, he wanted to know why there were so many religions in the world. As a result of active searches, he found answers to all his questions in the Bible, which became a reference book for him.
Valeriy worked as a finisher, carpenter-furniture maker, and immediately before the criminal prosecution in the service sector of the territory of the business center.
In 2004, Valeriy married Marina, they had a son, Rostislav. The couple repeatedly received thanks for raising their son. Rostislav has medals and certificates for sports achievements. The whole family loves spearfishing, and Marina pleases her friends by playing the piano.
Valeriy's relatives and friends are outraged by the way armed police officers break into houses where people simply read the Bible. Due to the persecution of Valeriy, his family was left without a breadwinner, and worries about urgent needs fell on the shoulders of his wife and disabled mother.
"Jehovah's Witnesses, as they were peace-loving and law-abiding people, remain so," Valery said in court. "Our position as sincere believers is simple: we want to be faithful to our God Jehovah in everything. There is absolutely no malicious intent in this, the destruction of the constitutional order, and even more so a crime. It's a constitutional right, and a right can't be a crime."