Kuban Jehovah's Witness* Meleshko placed under administrative supervision

Vasily Meleshko, a Jehovah's Witness* from the village of Kholmskaya (the Krasnodar Territory, also known as Kuban by the name of the main river) is prohibited from leaving the Abinsky District for three years without policemen's permit; he cannot stay outside the home at night, and must visit the local division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) four times a month.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Meleshko was sentenced to three years in penal colony within an extremism case. He was accused of giving lectures and discussing religious books. On June 14, 2022, the cassation court in Krasnodar upheld the sentence. Meleshko was released from colony on July 12, 2024.

As reported by the "OVD-Info"** project, Meleshko is prohibited from leaving the Abinsky District without policemen's permit and from being outside his home from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Moscow time. Besides, he must come to the local MIA division four times a month.

*396 Russian organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses are recognized as extremist, and their activities in Russia are banned by court's decision.

**Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.