MOSCOW, February 16 (RAPSI) – The Supreme Court of Israel has ordered the extradition to Russia of Gleb Grozovsky, a priest from St. Petersburg who stands charged with sexual abuse of children, his lawyer Haim Azencott told RAPSI on Tuesday.

According to Russian investigators, Grozovsky committed sex crimes against several minors in 2011 and 2013.

In 2013, he fled to Israel where he applied for citizenship. However, his application was dismissed.

In April 2014, Grozovsky was put on the international wanted list. Israeli police arrested him in September. In January 2015, a court in Jerusalem ruled that the priest should be extradited to Russia pursuant to the European Convention on Extradition.

The ruling was appealed. According to defense, the charges against Grozovsky are politically motivated and the Convention provisions could not apply to him.