Czech police arrest Russian priest for finding ‘pure things’ | Crime Stories

Moscow condemned the actions of the Czech police, calling the arrests ‘provocative’.

Police in Czechoslovakia have arrested a Russian pastor after four containers of suspicious white substances were found in his car.

Orthodox Bishop Hilarion was arrested in the town of Karlovy Vary, according to a statement released on his Telegram channel by his security team on Monday.

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The arrests sparked Moscow’s claims of anger at the Czech government, although Prague has scaled back its aid to Ukraine since it took office six months ago.

Bishop Hilarion, 60, whose name is Grigory Alfeyev, leads a Russian Orthodox church in the western town, home to many Russian immigrants.

The pastor denied having any problem with drugs. “I have no connection and have never had any connection with drug trafficking,” he said in a statement.

Czech police said only that a man was arrested on Sunday evening on the main road between Karlovy Vary and Prague, adding that inquiries were ongoing and that no one had been charged, without revealing the identity of the detainee.

The Czech Drug Enforcement Center said it had taken action on an unknown incident involving the movement of narcotic and psychotropic drugs.

Hilarion’s defense said the police did not give a valid reason for stopping the car and that two patrol cars were seen waiting on the road.

Hilarion was not allowed to watch the investigation, his lawyer said, adding that the defense wanted an independent examination of the item as well as fingerprint and DNA checks.

‘Violence’

The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said this was a “distraction” aimed at discrediting Hilarion, and demanded his immediate release.

“The head of the Czechoslovak delegation in Moscow will soon be invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, where there will be strong protests against the unacceptable brutality of the Czech authorities,” he said.

Russian media reported that the detention followed months of threats against Hilarion, including threats to beat him and force him to resign from his job at Karlovy Vary.

Hilarion was once considered the right-hand man of Patriarch Kirill – head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a pillar of support for President Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine.

However, the priest is said to have fallen out of favor with Moscow’s spiritual authorities and was deported in 2022, shortly after the Russian revolution.

His deportation to the Czech Republic came after a former agent accused him of sexism, which Hilarion denied, saying the agent tried to extort €384,000 from him.

Unlike many Russian religious leaders who have openly supported the war in Ukraine, Hilarion has not spoken publicly about the conflict.

Separately on Monday, the Czech government, a coalition of populist and far-right parties that took office in December, announced it had approved a constitutional amendment that would tighten the rules on financial aid for Ukrainian refugees. It said it was responding to the misuse of aid, and the idea that refugees had an advantage over residents.