A 35-year-old Romanian monk was charged Monday with grievous bodily harm after beating a fellow monk on Sunday evening at the Serbian Orthodox monastery of Hilandar, part of the male monastic community of Mount Athos in northern Greece.
The suspect hit the 52-year-old Belarusian monk with his hands, feet and a plastic bottle in the face. According to media reports, there was a dispute between two monks about patriarchates, as a result of which one of them supported the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, and the other supported the Moscow Russian one. The victim was taken to Polygyros Hospital, where he continues to receive treatment for various injuries.
The 52-year-old monk from Belarus declined to press charges, but the Romanian monk was arrested under a fast-track procedure known as “aftoforo”, which allows for a quick hearing if the arrest is made within 48 hours of the alleged crime. The attacker has reportedly already given evidence to the investigator.
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