Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Detained in Czech Republic After White Substance Found in Car
Czech authorities said two people were detained after an anonymous tip, and the substance found in the car is still awaiting expert analysis.
- On Sunday, Czech police stopped a vehicle carrying Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion in Karlovy Vary shortly after he left the Orthodox Church of Saints Peter and Paul, and officers found four small containers with a white substance in the trunk.
- The search followed an anonymous tip to Czech police's National Drug Headquarters regarding suspected drug transportation, though Hilarion's lawyer alleged police did not follow correct procedure and prevented him from witnessing the search.
- Through his Telegram channel, Hilarion categorically denied involvement, stating he has 'never had any connection to illegal drug trafficking' and demanding 'a full, independent, and procedurally flawless investigation' into the incident.
- Czech authorities confirmed two people were detained but have filed no charges, with police citing ongoing criminal proceedings while the substance's composition awaits expert evaluation.
- The detention compounds prior controversies including Hilarion's 2024 dismissal from the Budapest-Hungarian Diocese over sexual misconduct allegations and Czech reports that authorities were considering sanctions over suspected ties to Russian intelligence structures.
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Russian Orthodox bishop released after 'drug possession' arrest
A formerly high-ranking Russian Orthodox bishop was released without charge Tuesday, two days after he was arrested by Czech police on suspicion of drug possession.Metropolitan Hilarion, pictured in 2016. Credit: wikimedia/Kremlin.ru CC BY 4.0.Czech authorities released Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) and an unnamed driver and camera operator May 26, as investigators await the results of laboratory tests on white substances seized from his car M…
The Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Czech ambassador over the detention of Russian Metropolitan Hilarion in Unhoště, Central Bohemia, on Sunday. The local state agency TASS reports. The Czech authorities detained the metropolitan on suspicion of drug possession. Hilarion denied this and called his detention a provocation.
Metropolitan Ilarion was detained by the Czech police for alleged possession of illegal substances, according to a statement posted on his Telegram channel on Monday, wrote The Kyiv Independent. The machine in which the clergy, whose secular name is Grigori Alfeiev and who led the Russian Orthodox Church's external relations department...
Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Detained in Czech Republic After White Substance Found in Car
A former senior cleric in the Russian Orthodox Church said on Monday that Czech police had found small containers of a white substance in his car during a search a day earlier, and denied any connection to those items.
Russian Orthodox cleric denies link to white substance found in car by Czech police
A former senior cleric in the Russian Orthodox Church said on Monday that Czech police had found small containers of a white substance in his car during a search a day earlier, and denied any connection to those items.
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