Russian monk from Mount Athos convicted in Greece for refusing to provide fingerprints

A Russian monk living on the Holy Mount Athos was arrested and convicted in Thessaloniki. The court found him guilty of disobeying the authorities for refusing to be fingerprinted, but acquitted him on charges of illegal stay in the country. The monk was given a suspended sentence, while expressing his desire to return to his homeland. This incident was the second such case with Russian monks in Greece recently.

According to the Greek portal orthodoxia .info, the monk was detained on his way from Mount Athos to Thessaloniki. In court, he was charged with illegal stay in the country and disobedience. During the hearing, he categorically refused to provide fingerprint data, stating, “Russian priests are allowed to sit in jail, but it is forbidden to submit fingerprints.” As a result, the court sentenced him to two months’ imprisonment, suspended for three years, precisely for his act of defiance.

The monk was acquitted on the charge of unlawful stay, however, due to lack of malice. He explained that he had been on Mount Athos since 2015 and his visa expired in 2019. According to him, he was unable to leave Greece and return to Russia, first because of the coronavirus pandemic and then because of the lack of direct air transportation after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. According to the data, the monk belongs to the monastery in Moscow and lived in the cell of St. Nicholas at the monastery of Vatoped.

Recall, earlier we reported that in Greece was arrested and convicted Russian clergyman, who for almost three years illegally lived in a monastery on the holy mountain Athos. After being sentenced to imprisonment and a large fine, he opted for deportation to his homeland.