Court in Novosibirsk Sent Valeriy Maletskov and Marina Chaplykina to a Penal Colony for Their Faith in Jehovah God for 6 Years and 4 Years, Respectively

On December 18, 2023, Oleg Karpets, judge of the Novosibirsk District Court, sentenced Marina Chaplykina to 4 years in a penal colony, and Valeriy Maletskov to 6 years in a penla colony just because of practicing their religion. They were taken into custody in the courtroom. The believers do not admit their guilt and can appeal the verdict.

In April 2019, FSB investigator Selyunin initiated a criminal case against the believers, charging them with extremism. On the same day, searches were carried out at a total of 12 addresses. In one case, the planting of banned literature was noticed. The home of Valeriy Maletskov, who lives with his wife and young child, was invaded by armed security forces, breaking down the front door. He was charged with organizing the activity of an extremist organization, and Marina Chaplykina was charged with participating in and financing it. He was placed under house arrest, and she was placed under a recognizance agreement.

After three years of investigation, the case was submitted to the Novosibirsk District Court. The charges were based on recordings of conversations with believers made by a secret witness "Ivan", who attended meetings for worship of Jehovah's Witnesses.

The support of friends helped the believers cope with what was happening. Marina recalls: "When they found out that I had lost my job, [fellow believers] immediately put together a food parcel and gave me the money. They sent messages with words of encouragement. I felt part of a big family. When it was especially difficult emotionally, I unexpectedly received letters from Belarus and later from Japan. They were beautiful words of assurance of love. These letters came always at the right time!"

Valeriy said: "Under house arrest, I could not work, so I lost the source of income for my family. But, most interestingly, our family received help from fellow believers in the first 2 months; when we ciunted how much we received in total, it turned out that this isit was exactly the amount that I would have earned if I had been working at my job for 2 months".

The believers were among 8 Jehovah's Witnesses prosecuted for their faith in the Novosibirsk Region. Aleksandr Seredkin, whose case was separated the case proceedings of Maletskov and Chaplykina, is serving 6 years in a penal colony for his believes.