In the Czech Republic, Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church Hilarion (Grigory Alfeev) was detained on suspicion of drug-related crimes. This was reported on his Telegram channel.
On May 24, his car was seized in Karlovy Vary. It is alleged that the police began a search without explanation of the reasons for the stop, and four “small containers with a white substance were found in the luggage compartment. The composition, origin and nature of the substance should only be established by a competent examination,” the report says.
Hilarion denies any involvement in the illegal possession of prohibited substances and considers the incident a provocation.
“I do not and never have had anything to do with illegal drug trafficking. For me, as a clergyman, the very suggestion of such a thing is absolutely false,” he said.
The Metropolitan claims that in recent months he has repeatedly received anonymous threats, including threats of physical harm, demanding that he leave his place of service in the temple of the Moscow Patriarchate.
In July 2024, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church removed Hilarion from the administration of the Budapest-Hungarian diocese. Before this, on July 5, Novaya Gazeta Europe wrote that during the two years of his stay in Budapest, the Metropolitan received a Hungarian passport and became the owner of expensive real estate. However, the main episode was the relationship between Hilarion and his former cell attendant from the Russian-Japanese family, 18-year-old Georgy Suzuki. He accused Hilarion of sexual harassment.
