Overview
- Czech police stopped a vehicle carrying Metropolitan Hilarion on May 24 and say officers found four small containers with a white substance in the trunk during a search based on an anonymous tip.
- Hilarion and his driver were detained for questioning but were later released without charges, and Hilarion’s team posted that laboratory testing showed the substance was illicit while the criminal probe remains open.
- Hilarion strongly denies any involvement, has demanded an independent review of procedures and evidence, and his defence says officers did not give clear reasons for the stop or allow him to observe the search.
- Moscow condemned the action as a deliberate frame-up, summoned Czech chargé d’affaires Jan Ondřejka and demanded Hilarion’s immediate release, turning the case into a diplomatic dispute.
- Hilarion is a controversial former senior Russian Orthodox figure who was reassigned after high‑level demotions in 2022 and 2024, and the case raises questions about police procedure, release of footage and whether formal charges will follow.