Putin expands military role to protect Russians overseas

Russia has passed a law allowing the President to deploy armed forces to protect citizens facing arrest or legal action abroad. The move follows the detention of a Russian Orthodox Church bishop in the Czech Republic, which Moscow has termed a “provocation” and demanded his release

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing the Russian army to protect Russian citizens abroad, local media reported.

The law applies in the event of a citizen’s arrest, criminal prosecution, or other legal action by foreign and international courts vested with jurisdiction without Russia’s participation, Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency reported.

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The law also states that government agencies will, at the President’s discretion, take measures to protect Russian citizens in the event of their arrest, criminal prosecution, or other legal action by foreign courts.

The law was approved by the Federation Council at a plenary session and authorised by the State Duma.

Under existing laws, the Russian President already has the authority to deploy the country’s armed forces to perform tasks beyond their intended purpose.

This comes amid the arrest of Hilarion Alfeyev, a retired bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church residing in the Czech Republic.

He was arrested on Sunday after Czech police found containers with an unspecified substance in the boot of his car, according to a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The Russian Foreign Ministry is set to summon the head of the Czech diplomatic mission in Moscow in connection with the detention of Hilarion Alfeyev in Karlovy Vary.

The Ministry said he was arrested in the Czech Republic on “trumped-up charges”.

According to the statement, the police conducted a personal search of Hilarion and his driver and tested them for narcotics, with negative results.

“We regard this incident as a deliberate, orchestrated provocation aimed at denigrating both the Metropolitan himself and, through him, Orthodoxy in principle, which has recently been under attack in the Czech Republic,” the Ministry noted.

It also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Hilarion Alfeyev and an end to the “fabricated investigation”.