Czech police detained Russian Orthodox Bishop Hilarion in Karlovy Vary after four containers of a suspicious white substance were found in his car. The detention followed an anonymous tip reported to the Czech Drug Enforcement Centre. Hilarion denied any involvement in illegal drug trafficking and said he had no connection to narcotic substances. Czech police stated only that a man was detained on Sunday evening and that interrogations were ongoing, with no charges announced and no identity disclosed. Hilarion’s defence said police offered no clear reason for stopping the vehicle, did not allow him to observe the search, and sought independent forensic analysis plus fingerprint and DNA checks. Moscow condemned the action as an orchestrated provocation and demanded his immediate release.
"Orthodox Bishop Hilarion was detained in the town of Karlovy Vary, according to a statement released on his Telegram channel by his defence team on Monday. The cleric denied any involvement in drug possession. “I have no connection and have never had any connection to the illegal trafficking of narcotic substances,” he said in the statement. Czech police said only that a man was detained on Sunday evening on a highway between Karlovy Vary and Prague, adding that interrogations were under way and no one had been charged, without disclosing the detainee's identity."
"The Czech Drug Enforcement Centre said it had also acted on an anonymous tip-off reporting the transport of narcotic and psychotropic substances. Hilarion's defence said police offered no clear reason for stopping the vehicle and that two patrol cars appeared to be waiting for it on the road. Hilarion was not permitted to observe the search, his lawyer said, adding that the defence was demanding independent forensic analysis of the substance along with fingerprint and DNA checks."
"Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the incident an orchestrated provocation aimed at discrediting Hilarion, and demanded his immediate release. Moscow condemned the action of the Czech police, calling the detainment a provocation'. The head of the Czech diplomatic mission in Moscow will shortly be summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, where a strong protest will be lodged regarding the unacceptable high-handedness of"
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