Man Claiming To Be Jesus Christ Is Sent To Russian Prison Camp
A court in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk sentenced Sergei Torop, a former traffic officer who called himself "Vissarion," for harming the mental and physical health of his followers. Two of his associates also received lengthy sentences. All three denied charges against them.
Torop founded the Church of the Last Testament in 1991 and his group has been the subject of media scrutiny in Russia for years, during which he has attracted thousands of followers. His arrest and sentencing to a tough prison camp will likely mark the end of a sect which had lasted for more than three decades.
Torop, 64, founded his movement after what he described as a divine revelation and it grew in popularity during the post-Soviet ideological vacuum of the 1990s.
A regular fixture in the Russian media, thousands visited him at remote settlements in Siberia over the years and there was a core group of about 300 living in isolation on a hill they called the Abode of Dawn.
He imposed strict rules on his followers, prohibiting them from consuming meat, alcohol, or tobacco, and discouraging the use of money. Followers of Torop's community, including those who came from other regions, lived in several villages in the Kuragan and Karatuz districts of the Krasnoyarsk region.
Torop and two other of his sect's leaders, Vladimir Vedernikov and Vadim Redkin, were arrested in 2020 in a helicopter raid that involved Russia's main intelligence service, the FSB.
Accused of creating a religious organization that violated the civil rights of its members and caused bodily harm, a criminal case established how between 1991 and 2020 Torop and his associates had used "psychological violence" against followers whom they exploited for money and labor.
On Monday, the Zheleznodorozhny District Court in Novosibirsk handed down sentences against the trio for causing "moral harm" to 16 people, leaving six with "serious health problems" and one with "moderate" harm, according to a statement by the regional prosecutor's office.
There was also a theft of funds of more than 5 million rubles ($63,000) from the Krasnoyarsk region's budget, the statement added.
Russian prosecutor's office said in a statement: "Between 1991 and 2020...Torop worked to subordinate other people to his power, by using psychological violence against them, causing harm to their health."
The court awarded 45 million rubles ($572,000) in damages to the victims and state prosecutors. The men denied the charges and Torop and Vedernikov got a 12-year sentence while Redkin received 11 years, although it is not clear if they will appeal.
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