Monk Hilarion convicted of promoting terrorism

Monk Hilarion (in the world - Nikolai Shatkovsky) was sentenced to five years in prison.

On July 12, 2023, the 2nd Western District Military Court issued a verdict under Part 2 of Art. 205.2 of the Criminal Code (public calls for terrorist activities) to monk Hilarion. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison, to be served in a general regime correctional colony, and deprived of the right to engage in activities related to website administration for 4 years.

Monk Hilarion (born 1964) said that he belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCOR), but which branch of the ROCOR he belongs to is still unknown. Hewas detained in October 2022 in the village of Khokhlovo. The detention was associated with his anti-war position. On social networks, he published posts in support of Ukraine.

We do not know which statements by Hilarion became the reason for initiating a criminal case. A video is available on Tiktoke where he addresses the Russians, blames the “demon” Putin and his “team of Jewish oligarchs” for the military operation and calls not only to “criticize” the president, but also to “kill”.

Sources

• A Belgorod monk was sentenced to 5 years in the case of calls for terrorism // Telegram channel "7X7 - Horizontal Russia". 2023. July 29.
• CASE No. 1-157/2023 // Official website of the 2nd Western District Military Court. 2023. July 12.
• A monk who spoke in support of Ukraine was found at the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Belgorod region // OVD-info. 2023. October 18.