'Jesus of Siberia' remanded for claiming to be the reincarnation
In this file photo, “Jesus of Siberia,” Russian ex-traffic cop Sergei Torop meets his followers in the remote Russian village of Petropavlovka. He has been remanded in custody.
A Russian court on Wednesday remanded a Siberian cult leader for two months for claiming to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ as he faces charges of harming followers.
Sergei Torop, a long-haired former traffic policeman, has led a sect called The Church of the Last Testament for almost 30 years since proclaiming himself the Son of God following what he says was a revelation.
Torop and two of his followers, who also call him Vissarion, must stay in prison until November 22 awaiting trial, a court in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk ruled.
Russian special forces flew by helicopter to his remote settlement in the Krasnoyarsk region on Tuesday and detained him and his top aides.
The Investigative Committee said it was planning to charge the cult leaders with organizing an illegal religious organization and causing “two or more people severe harm.”
Investigators said the cult leaders manipulated followers into giving money and submitted them to “mental abuse” that seriously damaged their health.
The Novosibirsk Central District Court said in a statement yesterday that Torop and two others had been charged.
Attending court on Tuesday, Torop told journalists he rejected the charges against him, his spokesman and the head of a school for followers’ children, describing them as “unbelievable,” the TASS news agency reported. The men’s lawyers said they would appeal.
