ST. PETERSBURG, June 13 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov) - The Priozersk City Court in the Leningrad Region will begin hearing the case against Russian priest Gleb Grozovsky, who stands charged with sexual abuse of children, on June 22, RAPSI reports from the court on Tuesday.

Earlier, the court extended Grozovsky’s detention until December 2, his attorney Mikhail Utkin told RAPSI. A motion to return the case to prosecutors has been dismissed, the lawyer added.

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

In 2013, he fled to Israel and 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 but rejected. In April 2016, the Justice Minister signed an order on Grozovsky’s extradition.

In September 2016, the priest was extradited from Israel to Russia.

Defense lawyers claim that charges against Grozovsky are politically motivated.