A court in Almaty has delivered a verdict in the case of former priest Iakov Vorontsov. He was found guilty of illegally acquiring and storing a psychotropic substance. Taking an amnesty into account, he was sentenced to four years in prison. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The case was heard by District Court No. 2 of the Medeu district of Almaty. The proceedings began on September 16 and were held behind closed doors.
According to the court, during a search of the house where Vorontsov lived, 2.44 grams of an analogue of the psychotropic substance methcathinone — 3-CMC — were found. That amount was classified as an especially large size. Vorontsov was accused of acquiring and storing the substance without intent to distribute.
The court said his guilt was confirmed by witness testimony, expert findings, the search protocol and other case materials.
Initially, Vorontsov was sentenced to six years of imprisonment. The amnesty law was then applied in connection with the adoption of Kazakhstan's new Constitution.
"The punishment was reduced by one third and finally set at 4 years of imprisonment," the court's statement says.
The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.
Recall that a criminal case against the former priest of the Russian Orthodox Church was opened after a video appeared online in which Vorontsov is presumably preparing and using a narcotic substance with a homemade smoking device.
The court reported that a medical examination dated February 13, 2026 established that Vorontsov had used cannabinoids. Earlier, for their non-medical use, he was given 10 days of administrative arrest.