In St. Petersburg, the arrest of priest Ioann Kurmoyarov in the case of “fake news” about the Russian army was extended

The Kalininsky District Court of St. Petersburg extended the detention of priest Ioann Kurmoyarov until October 1, reports Zaks.Ru.

On August 10, Kurmoyarov was finally charged under the article on disseminating “fakes” about the army based on political hatred (clause “e”, part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code).

The initiation of a case against Father John and his detention became known on the morning of June 8. The reason for criminal prosecution, in particular, was a video that the clergyman published in March. The video said that Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine would go to hell, not heaven. “In heaven there are “blessed are the peacemakers,” “peacemakers,” do you understand what the problem is? And those who unleashed aggression will not be in heaven,” the priest said.

Telegram channel “Support for political prisoners. Memorial clarifies that the case involves a total of four videos by the clergyman, published on VKontakte.

On June 9, the court sent Ioann Kurmoyarov into custody. He is in the Kresty-2 pre-trial detention center.

In April, the defendant was deprived of his priesthood by decree of Patriarch Kirill. He later moved to serve in the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCOR).

• In 2020, the Metropolitan banned Ioann Kurmoyarov from ministry after the latter criticized the main church of the armed forces, which then opened in the Moscow region. “This is another example of how Orthodoxy is turning into banal paganism with its temples, heavenly patrons, icons of military branches, professional temples,” Kurmoyarov wrote on his Facebook. The banwas later lifted . However, he was not allowed to teach at the Novosibirsk Theological Seminary, where the priest had previously worked, and to remain in the same diocese. After this, Kurmoyarov left the city.
• Since February 24—the first day of the “special operation” in Ukraine—residents of Russian cities have been going out to anti-war rallies every day and talking about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 220 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our guide .
• Article 207.3 was included in the Criminal Code in March 2022 - in this way the authorities responded to anti-war speeches and statements, as well as the dissemination of information about the war that did not come from official Russian sources. The maximum penalty under this article is 15 years in prison.