Ioann Kurmoyarov has been a vocal critic of the war in Ukraine.
A former Russian Orthodox priest who has condemned his country’s invasion of Ukraine has reportedly been arrested as the Kremlin continues its clampdown on dissent of the war. Ioann Kurmoyarov was detained in St. Petersburg on Tuesday and his property was raided by investigators who took away some of his religious items, according to independent Russian news outlet Mediazona. Kurmoyarov has been charged under legislation prohibiting the spread of « false information » about the Russian military, a law enforcement source told Russia’s 78.ru TV channel. The arrest comes three months after a video he shared titled, « who will be in hell and who will be in heaven? » In it, he takes aim at « Kremlin propaganda », as well as suggestions that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the will of a power even higher than President Vladimir Putin. The Russian government passed a censorship law in March that criminalizes the distribution of « fake news » about the Russian military, with a punishment of up to 15 years in prison.
« I want to disappoint everyone who believes in this fake from a Christian point of view », Kurmoyarov said in the video uploaded to YouTube on March 12, adding that those who « unleash aggression won’t be in heaven » and that « Ukraine did not attack Russia.
