A former senior official of the Russian Orthodox Church said today that Czech police found small containers of a white substance during a search of his car on Sunday, denying any connection to the items.
Metropolitan Hilarion, whose secular name is Grigory Alfeyev and who headed the Church's Department for External Relations from 2009 to 2022, accused police of not following due process during the search in the Czech Republic and called for an independent investigation, Reuters reports.
He also "categorically denies any involvement in the illegal possession of prohibited substances and considers what happened to be a provocation," according to a post on his Telegram page.
The announcement, as reported by Reuters, states that the police did not inform Ilarion why his vehicle was stopped, nor did they allow him to attend the search.
The statement said that the incident was preceded by a long period of pressure on Hilarion and the Orthodox community he serves in the Czech city of Karlovy Vary, including anonymous and occasionally violent threats.
Moscow demands the immediate release of Hilarion and the suspension of the "fabricated" proceedings against him, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"The head of the Czech diplomatic mission in Moscow will soon be summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, where he will be handed a strong protest over the unacceptable arbitrariness of the Czech authorities," Zakharova said.
A spokeswoman for the Czech police's National Center for Combating Drugs said the agency conducted the search after receiving an anonymous tip.
She did not directly comment on whether any substance was found, who the people involved in the case were, nor did she provide additional details, explaining that criminal proceedings are ongoing.
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