A leader of a Russian cult who claims to be the reincarnated Jesus Christ was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Monday after being found guilty of harming the health and financial well-being of his followers, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Sergey Torop, a former traffic policeman known by the nickname "Visarion", founded the Church of the Last Testament in a remote and picturesque corner of the Krasnoyarsk region in Siberia in 1991 - the year the Soviet Union collapsed. He began claiming to be the reborn son of God and preaching the word of God, attracting thousands of followers who come to live in a settlement known as the “Abode of the Dawn“ or “City of the Sun“ at a time when Russia is struggling with poverty and lawlessness.
Sixty-four-year-old Torop preaches to his followers to stop eating meat, smoking and drinking alcohol, to stop swearing and not using money.
However, the Russian Investigative Committee has accused Torop and two of his aides of using psychological pressure to extort money from his followers and of causing serious harm to their mental and physical health.
In the ruling, a court in the Russian city of Novosibirsk found the three men guilty, sentencing Torop and Vladimir Vedornikov to 12 years in prison each, and Vadim Redkin to 11 years. All three will serve their sentences in a penal colony with maximum security.
The three men were also ordered to pay 40 million rubles ($511,500) in compensation for non-pecuniary damage to the victims. The convicts have pleaded not guilty and deny any wrongdoing.
Torop and his two aides were arrested in a spectacular helicopter raid in 2020, involving Russia's Federal Security Service.
Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that investigators believe the three men caused non-pecuniary damage to 16 people, serious mental health damage to six people and moderate health damage to another person.
The agency said Vedornikov was also charged with fraud.