Czech police officers on Tuesday released Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev of the Russian Orthodox Church without charges after he was detained over the weekend on suspicion of drug possession.
Metropolitan Hilarion, a former senior cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church, was detained by Czech police officers alongside an unnamed driver on May 24 during a vehicle inspection near the town of Unhošť, Central Bohemian Region. The officers allegedly found a “white substance” in the vehicle.
Hilarion denied any connection to the findings.
He further called on an independent investigation into the matter — accusing the Czech police of not following correct procedures during his inspection. According to the Catholic news outlet The Pillar, the police carried out an inspection following an anonymous tip.
In a Russian-language statement published on his official Telegram channel, Metropolitan Hilarion explained that he and the driver were released with no charges filed against them and with “no further restrictions,” such as bail, travel ban, or procedural obligations.
The statement noted, however, a forensic analysis confirmed that the item found in the vehicle is a “controlled substance” and that Czech authorities will continue the investigation.
“Metropolitan Hilarion’s side emphasizes: the mere fact that a controlled substance was found does not answer the main question — how these items ended up in the car,” the statement read in part.
“Key issues for the defense remain the circumstances surrounding the anonymous tip that led to the car’s stop, the origin of the discovered items, access to the vehicle prior to departure, and the procedures for searching, seizing, and handling the alleged evidence,” the text continued.
Russia condemned the Orthodox bishop’s arrest as a “frame job” and had demanded his immediate, unconditional liberation. The Russian news agency Tass reports that the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Czech Charge d’Affaires Jan Ondrejka on Tuesday and lodged Moscow’s strong protest over the detention of Metropolitan Hilarion.
“It was pointed out that the drug production and trafficking charges brought against the Orthodox Church hierarch were completely unfounded and absurd,” the Russian foreign Ministry said, per Tass. “It was also noted that the fact that the police operation leading to his detention had been carried out based on an anonymous report indicated it was a pre-planned act of provocation.”
On Monday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Russian government views the detention of as a “set-up aimed at tarnishing his personal reputation and the image of Orthodox Christianity in general.”
“We view this incident as a deliberate and orchestrated frame-up, aimed at tarnishing the metropolitan himself and the Orthodox faith as a whole, which has lately been treated with hostility in the Czech Republic,” Zakharova said on Monday, demanding the cleric’s release and that “this sham case be dropped.”
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