Jerusalem court rules to extradite priest Gleb Grozovsky to Russia

The Jerusalem District Court decided to extradite to Russia St. Petersburg clergyman Gleb Grozovsky, whom Russian investigative authorities suspect of committing a series of sexual crimes against minors. In Israel, the priest tried to obtain local citizenship, citing his national roots, but was refused. His lawyers claim that in the homeland of the Orthodox priest, the Orthodox priest is being persecuted for “political and religious reasons”, and they are going to challenge the court decision in the next instance - the High Court of Justice (High Court of Justice). In parallel, a statement of violation of the client’s rights will be sent to the European Court of Human Rights.

Priest Gleb Grozovsky
Photo: Svetlana Kholyavchuk / TASS, Photo ITAR-TASS

As Kommersant has already reported, the former rector of the Church of St. John the Warrior in the village of Maloye Verevo in the Leningrad Region and part-time advisor to the general director of the St. Petersburg football club Zenit, Gleb Grozovsky, was put on the international wanted list back in November 2013. The reason for the criminal prosecution of the clergyman was a criminal case initiated by the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in St. Petersburg under Art. 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violent acts of a sexual nature). As the Investigative Committee told Kommersant, “according to the investigation, in June 2013, in a hotel located on the territory of the children’s camp of the Orthodox Travel Club “Philadelphia” on the island of Kos in the Greek Republic, 34-year-old Gleb Grozovsky committed sexual assault against 9-year-old and 12-year-old girls." In addition, the investigation believes that similar actions by the clergyman against several girls took place earlier - in the summer of 2011 on the territory of an Orthodox children's camp on Konevets Island, Leningrad Region.

Russia is waiting for a priest to be arrested

The Investigative Committee refuses to clarify details regarding the scandalous case, citing the fact that the victims are minors. According to unofficial data, the reason for initiating a criminal case was an appeal to law enforcement agencies by one of the parents of children vacationing in an Orthodox children's camp. During the audit, the number of episodes and victims increased, but mainly due to rumors and retelling of other people's stories. As the suspected priest later claimed on social networks and in interviews with electronic media, the charges against him were fabricated and are a consequence of his “social activity and strong civic position.” And the impetus for the scandal, according to the priest, was a conflict between him and a “difficult” relative of a teenager expelled from the camp for unacceptable behavior. By the way, the Israeli lawyers of Mr. Grozovsky have repeatedly stated that the priest has a documented alibi: during the period of the crimes incriminated against him, he was allegedly in Turkey.

How Russia asked for the extradition of a priest

Israeli lawyers acted as defenders of a Russian citizen in 2013 after Gleb Grozovsky, who was on a business trip in Israel, where in the city of Ashdod he worked in the Center for Healthy Youth, an organization for the rehabilitation of alcohol and drug addicts, became an official defendant. A Russian court arrested him in absentia, and investigative authorities put the clergyman on the international wanted list. The priest, suspected of pedophilia, decided not to return to his homeland at least until the end of the investigation or at least until his preventive measure is changed. He also appealed to the Israeli authorities with a request for citizenship of this country. But the relevant departments did not consider the allegations about the priest’s Jewish roots sufficiently significant, they refused him and ordered him to leave Israel.

During the investigation of the case, the Russian Orthodox Church removed Gleb Grozovsky from the staff and called on the priest to return to Russia and begin cooperating with the investigation. His business trip was automatically cancelled. At the same time, he was not deprived of his dignity and no ban was imposed on the priest performing divine services.

In the spring of 2014, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office sent a request for his extradition to Israeli law enforcement agencies. Fulfilling the instructions of Interpol, on September 21 last year, Jerusalem police operatives detained a Russian in the territory of the Capernaum Church in northern Israel. Gleb Grozovsky was placed in a Jerusalem pre-trial detention center. His case was heard in court five times. Most of the meetings, thanks to the efforts of lawyers, ended only in decisions to extend the preventive measure in the form of arrest.

“Gleb Grozovsky has a chance to stay on Israeli territory”

On December 29, 2014, the court began to consider the issue of extradition on the merits. And on January 19, 2015, the verdict in the case of Mr. Grozovsky was announced. Israeli judges decided to send the suspected priest home. However, the situation may still change. The defense of Gleb Grozovsky intends to appeal the decision on his extradition to Russia in the High Court of Justice of Israel, as well as in the European Court of Human Rights. “Until this whole process is completed, he will remain in Israel,” said the cleric’s lawyer, Haim Eisenkot. As the priest’s sister Lyubov Grozovskaya said on the VKontakte social network page, “the court did not delve into the grounds for prosecution, and the Israeli prosecutor’s office refused to consider the defense’s arguments.” A relative of the suspect quotes the lawyer as saying: “It was a predictable decision.”

Relatives of Gleb Grozovsky clarify that they will challenge today’s court decision only in a month, when the priest’s lawyers receive all the necessary documents from the court office. In anticipation of the continuation of legal battles, they organized a collection of funds necessary for the further protection of the fugitive. According to preliminary estimates, published by Gleb Grozovsky’s relatives on a special website, at this stage they will need at least 1 million rubles.

By the way, as the regional department of the Investigative Committee privately explained to Kommersant, none of the representatives of the Russian investigative authorities are expecting Gleb Grozovsky in his homeland in the near future: “This procedure (extradition - Kommersant ) is not a matter of one day. We are waiting for Mr. Grozovsky only by the summer. Until then, it is premature to comment on the situation.”

Vladislav Litovchenko, St. Petersburg

What is Gleb Grozovsky famous for?

Gleb Grozovsky, a former football player himself, was an adviser to the general director of Zenit. Earlier, St. Petersburg media reported that Mr. Grozovsky is the spiritual mentor of the football club. “We have known Gleb since 2007, and we can only describe him on the positive side. It is no secret that he is a graduate of the St. Petersburg football school. It is not surprising that at one time Zenit players turned to him as a clergyman. We really hope that the investigation will take place honestly and in good faith. But, in any case, this has nothing to do with football and the activities of the football club. The position of team confessor does not exist in the club’s staffing table,” said the head of the Zenit press service, Evgeny Gusev. Read more

Extradition instead of citizenship