Metropolitan Ilarion detained in Czechia, white substance found in vehicle
A clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church, Ilarion, was detained on Sunday evening at a petrol station on motorway D6. The Russian Foreign Ministry branded the incident a provocation and threatened to summon the Czech diplomat.
Ilarion detained on motorway D6, police launch criminal proceedings
Metropolitan Ilarion, a clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church, was detained on Sunday evening at a petrol station on motorway D6 in Czechia, according to ČT24 citing the Novinky.cz server. Police officers found three sachets containing an unidentified white substance in quantities of single-digit grammes in the vehicle. No one has been charged to date.
Police spokeswoman Michaela Richterová confirmed the launch of criminal proceedings. According to Novinky.cz, the detention occurred in Unhošť in the Central Bohemian region. "The National Drug Enforcement Centre, on the basis of an anonymous tip alleging the transport of narcotic and psychotropic substances, initiated measures concerning a vehicle in the Central Bohemian region," said National Drug Enforcement Centre spokeswoman Lucie Šmoldasová. The police did not disclose the identity of the vehicle's occupants due to the ongoing proceedings.
Prosecutor Petr Dluhoš of the Kladno State Prosecutor's Office confirmed to Novinky.cz that two people in total were detained, whom police are currently questioning. Richterová stated that the contents of the found sachets will be determined by expert analysis, and the police will provide further information probably not before Tuesday.
Ilarion speaks of provocation
A statement appeared on Ilarion's Telegram channel, according to which police officers stopped the car after departing from the Church of Sts Peter and Paul in Karlovy Vary. The clergyman stated that he "has no and has never had any connection to the illegal trafficking of narcotic substances". He branded the whole matter a provocation, which he said was preceded by prolonged pressure on the Orthodox community in Karlovy Vary and on himself personally with the aim of forcing him to leave his place of work.
Ilarion, whose real name is Grigory Alfeev, served from 2009 to 2022 as head of the Department of External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate and was considered one of possible successors to Patriarch Kirill. Following his resignation, he worked in Hungary; in 2024 he relocated to Karlovy Vary — all of this after allegations of sexual harassment were published and reports emerged of his living in luxury.
Moscow threatens to summon Czech diplomat
The Russian Foreign Ministry branded the incident an "intentional, organised provocation". "We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Metropolitan Ilarion and the cessation of this fabricated investigation," said ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. She added that the Russian embassy would continue to provide the metropolitan with all necessary assistance.
The ministry also announced that it would summon the head of the Czech diplomatic mission in Moscow in the near future. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier claimed that the Kremlin had no information about Ilarion's detention. "No, we know nothing about it," he said in response to the report published on the clergyman's Telegram account.
Tension between Prague and Moscow at the diplomatic level has persisted since late March, when the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Czech Ambassador to Moscow Daniel Koštoval over an attack with Molotov cocktails on the Russian House in Prague.
Source: ČT24