Judge Ivan Belykh of the Zheleznodorozhniy District Court of Khabarovsk has scheduled the verdict in the criminal case against 52-year-old Brother Valeriy Moskalenko to be announced on September 2, 2019.

Brother Moskalenko has been in pretrial detention since his arrest on the morning of August 2, 2018, when Federal Security Service (FSB) and riot police raided his home. Agents searched Brother Moskalenko’s home for some five hours before arresting him. Because he has remained in pretrial detention for over a year, there is concern that he will be convicted and sentenced to prison just as was the case with Dennis Christensen.

On December 18, 2018, a complaint, Moskalenko v. Russia, was filed with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Over 50 applications have been filed with the ECHR against Russia, with 34 of them already communicated to the Russian government.

We take pride in our dear Russian brothers and sisters ‘because of their endurance and faith in all their persecutions and the hardships that they are suffering.’ Clearly, they have Jehovah’s support and blessing. We pray he continues to give Brother Moskalenko the strength needed to endure with joy, no matter the outcome of next week’s verdict.—2 Thessalonians 1:4.