The Czech judicial system is supposed to be waging war on criminals, but seems to be waging war on itself this week.
The supreme state attorney Renata Vesecká lost a high-profile libel case against her predecessor Marie BeneÅ¡ová on Thursday, in a verdict that has cast new doubt on the long-running saga of the corruption allegations against deputy Prime Minister JiÅà Äunek and placed the wobbly centre-right coalition under even more strain.
It was late last year that Marie BeneÅ¡ová, former supreme state attorney, referred to her successor Renata Vesecká and a group of prosecutors and judges handling the JiÅà Äunek case as a âjudicial Czech attorney dismisses testimony on pressure in favour of Cunek ...
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Mladá Boleslav â an industrial town with an ancient history ... mafia.â Mrs Vesecká and her colleagues sued for libel. On Thursday, Pragueâs Regional Court threw out the case, saying Mrs BeneÅ¡ová was basically correct, and had no reason to apologise for the remarks. VojtÄch Cepl, chief justice at Pragueâs Regional Court.
âThe court found that there was truth in what she said. She made the remarks in an unfortunately fashion and with a degree of exaggeration, but yes, there was bullying, misuse of delegation, and unjustified intervention in the Äunek case.â
The court heard how documents were transported from one end of the country to another. Potentially incriminating evidence disappeared, apparently lost. Mrs Vesecká held a number of secret meetings with prosecutors involved in the case. At the same time, the charges against Mr Äunek were dropped, on two occasions. The original prosecutor assigned to the case testified that Mrs Vesecká and her colleagues had pressured her to drag out the proceedings, saying the government would fall if Mr Äunek was charged.
The opposition Social Democrats are calling for Mrs Vesecká to stand down immediately, as perhaps they would, sensing the governmentâs discomfort over the whole affair. Mrs Vesecká refuses to step down, saying she did nothing wrong and vows to appeal against the verdict. The justice minister and prime minister Mirek Topolánek have both stood by her. Mr Topolánek said Thursdayâs verdict simply found Mrs BeneÅ¡ová â who is now a shadow justice minister for the Social Democrats - had no reason to apologise for her remarks, and was not a judgment on Mrs Vesecká guilt or innocence.
But worryingly for Mr Topolánek, itâs not just the Social Democrats who are now gunning for Renata Vesecká. The Greens â members of his coalition government â are also calling for her head. It was the Greens who were most disturbed at the corruption charges against JiÅà Äunek, and the Greens whoâve had most difficulty swallowing his continued presence in the cabinet. The Vesecká libel case has once again brought the Äunek case into sharp focus, and placed an already fragile coalition under new strain.
(radio-Prague)
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