US EditionSect Leader's 12-Year Sentence: The Fall of 'Vissarion's' Empire
- A Novosibirsk court sentenced Sergei Torop, founder of the Church of the Last Testament, to 12 years in a maximum-security prison colony on Monday.
- Prosecutors from Russia's Prosecutor General's Office accused Torop of psychological manipulation to exploit followers for labor and money from 1991 to 2020, arresting him in a 2020 FSB helicopter raid.
- Evidence reveals the court found 16 followers suffered moral harm, six had serious health issues, and one moderate, awarding 45 million rubles in damages.
- Following the verdict, Torop's associates Vadim Redkin and Vladimir Vedernikov received 11 and 12-year sentences respectively in the same case.
- Beyond individual sentences, the case highlights how Russia's Prosecutor General's Office dismantled a cult by liquidating its community and prosecuting leaders for nearly 30 years of embezzlement and abuse.
26 Articles
26 Articles
'Jesus of Siberia' jailed for abusing followers at isolated mountain-top cult - Daily Star
After losing his job as a traffic officer in 1990, Sergei Torop, 64, claimed to have been reborn as Vissarion and went on to form a cult that replaces Christmas with a feast on his birthday
Sect Leader's 12-Year Sentence: The Fall of 'Vissarion's' Empire
Sergei Torop, a Russian sect leader claiming to be Jesus reincarnated, received a 12-year prison sentence for harming followers' health and finances. Known as 'Vissarion,' he founded a religious sect in Siberia post-Soviet Union, promising spiritual guidance while extracting money and imposing strict lifestyle rules.
Sergei Torop believed that Jesus was reincarnated and created a cult that told the years since his birth and thanked veganism. Two close followers of the leader were also imprisoned.
The Straits Times
The PrintRussia jails 'Jesus of Siberia' sect leader for 12 years for harming followers
A Russian sect leader who claimed he was Jesus Christ reincarnated was sentenced to 12 years in a prison camp on Monday after being convicted of harming his followers' health and financial affairs. Read more at straitstimes.com.
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