Czech police release Russian bishop after white powder' found in his car

Czech police released Russian Orthodox bishop Hilarion, also known as Grigory Alfeyev, detained in Karlovy Vary after officers found containers of a white substance in his car. He said forensic tests confirmed the substance was a banned narcotic but insisted he was framed. Police acted after an anonymous tip alleging transportation of narcotic and psychotropic substances. Russia’s foreign ministry and the Russian Orthodox church condemned the arrest as a deliberate provocation and a classic setup, and Russia summoned Czechia’s charge d’affaires in Moscow to protest. Hilarion leads the Russian Orthodox congregation in Karlovy Vary, which has a sizable Russian diaspora. He previously served as the church’s external relations department head and had been close to Patriarch Kirill, later falling out of favour and being demoted and posted abroad after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

"Czech police have released a Russian Orthodox bishop who was detained on suspicion of drug possession, after Moscow condemned the arrest as a politically motivated setup. Bishop Hilarion, also known by his secular name, Grigory Alfeyev, was stopped by police on Sunday in Karlovy Vary, a spa town in western Czechia popular with Russian tourists, after officers discovered containers of a white substance in the boot of his car."

"In a statement published on Tuesday after his release without charge, Hilarion said forensic tests had confirmed the substance was a banned narcotic, but insisted he had been framed. “The mere discovery of a prohibited substance does not answer the key question how these items ended up in the vehicle in the first place,” his post on Telegram said."

"The Czech national drug headquarters had said the bishop's vehicle was stopped after an anonymous tip-off was received alleging the transportation of narcotic and psychotropic substances. Russia's foreign ministry called the arrest a deliberate, orchestrated provocation. The Russian Orthodox church described the incident as a classic setup, while Russia's foreign ministry said it had summoned Czechia's charge d'affaires in Moscow, Jan Ondrejka, to formally protest against the detention."

"Once regarded as a close confidant of Patriarch Kirill, the powerful head of the Russian Orthodox church and close ally of Vladimir Putin, Hilarion fell out of favour with the church leadership in recent years. Unlike many senior clergymen who openly backed Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Hilarion neither publicly supported nor condemned the war, and was demoted and posted abroad shortly after the invasion began in February 2022."

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