Hieromonk Jonah fined for disrespecting the state

A court in Slavyansk-on-Kuban deemed Ilya Sigida's publication about Putin to be disrespectful of the state, slapping a 40,000 ruble fine. Three more administrative protocols were filed against Viktor Pivovarov, assistant to Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church – two under the same article and one for discrediting the army.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the article on inciting hatred or enmity, which Ilya Sigida, assistant to Archbishop Viktor Pivovarov of the Russian Orthodox Church, is charged with, carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. Parishioners reported that after his arrest he was wearing a torn cassock and had his head shaved. His mother described her son's state as depressed. The Investigative Committee reported on the case involving two counts of Nazi rehabilitation.

Hieromonk Iona (Ilya Sigida) was charged with disrespect for the state (Part 3 of Article 20.1 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses) for an article on Archbishop Viktor Pivovarov's website, eshatologia.org. The material is currently unavailable, as reported today by "Horizontal Russia 7x7"*.

According to the court ruling of December 18, the article in question refers to a passage in which he mentions Putin. The court fined Sigida 40,000 rubles.

In total, the court received four administrative protocols—three for disrespect for the state and one for discrediting the army (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3. of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). In addition to the decision fining Sigida on December 18, another protocol for disrespect for the state and discrediting the army was considered on December 23. However, decisions on these protocols had not been published by 0:59 Moscow time on December 25, according to data on the Slavyansk City Court website.

The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that Hieromonk Jonah (Ilya Sigida) of the Russian Orthodox Church was also fined 30,000 rubles in November 2023. The Slavyansk-on-Kuban court deemed his article defamatory of the Russian army.

The Russian Orthodox Church (RosOC) is a religious association of non-canonical Orthodoxy of the Russian tradition, operating in Russia and the former USSR. It does not have Eucharistic communion (joint celebration of liturgies) with the Moscow Patriarchate or with any of the local Orthodox churches, according to the Modern Russian Encyclopedia.