Human Rights Defenders Recognise Orthodox Hieromonk Convicted in Kazakhstan as a Political Prisoner

The Kazakhstani human rights alliance TIREK has added Orthodox hieromonk Iakov (Vorontsov) to its list of political prisoners. The cleric is known for his anti-war stance, criticism of the Russian Orthodox Church and support for establishing an independent Orthodox community in Kazakhstan.

According to Christians Against War, human rights defenders examined the history of the hieromonk’s persecution, including an earlier criminal case that was dropped because his actions did not constitute a criminal offence.

In the current case, Iakov (Vorontsov) has been sentenced to four years in prison. A court in Almaty found him guilty of drug possession, although the priest was initially accused of running a drug den. The prosecution’s case relied on testimony from anonymous witnesses, and prosecutors were unable to establish that one of those witnesses even existed.

The alliance’s expert council, which includes prominent Kazakhstani human rights defenders, identified indications that the prosecution was politically motivated.

The verdict has not yet entered into force. The defence has lodged an appeal and continues to maintain that the prosecution has failed to prove its case.

As LF previously reported, Iakov Vorontsov is known for his anti-war stance and outspoken criticism of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 2024, Vorontsov was suspended from ministry and defrocked. Criminal proceedings were also brought against him under Article 141 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code, which covers “incitement of social, national, tribal, racial, class or religious discord, and insults to the national honour and dignity or religious feelings of citizens”. The investigation was subsequently closed on the grounds that his actions did not constitute a criminal offence.

Several years ago, Vorontsov attempted to establish an Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan independent of the Moscow Patriarchate. He twice submitted registration documents to the Ministry of Justice, but both applications were rejected.

As we previously reported, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) added Iakov Vorontsov, a priest defrocked by the Russian Orthodox Church, to its international database of individuals persecuted for their religious beliefs.