Special forces in Siberia detained sect leaders

On September 22, Russian security forces stopped the mysticism of the Last Testament Church and other sect leaders in Siberia. These people are reportedly suspected of harming the health of their followers.

The Russian Commission of Inquiry has circulated a report stating that the leaders of this religious sect, under psychological pressure, demanded money from these followers and caused serious damage to their health.

Former Russian highway police officer Sergei Torop, better known to his followers simply as Visarion, founded the Church of the Last Testament in the remote Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia in 1991, the same year the Soviet Union collapsed. The long-haired, bearded mystic gathered thousands of followers, many of whom blindly believed that he was the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

During the arrest operation, the officers arrested not only the leader of the sect, but also his aides Vadim Redkin and Vladimir Vedernikov. Police and Federal Security agents also participated in the operation.

The images show masked officers in special clothing leading the detainees, one of them with long gray hair. They were taken from the bus to the helicopter.

They will face up to 12 years in prison, according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. A male attorney has not yet been contacted.