Court opens case of Bečva River poisoning

The District Court in Vsetín on Monday opened the case of the poisoning of the Bečva River in September of 2020 when a cyanide leak killed 32,000 tons of fish and all other living organisms along a 40-km stretch of the river. The company Energoaqua is facing charges in the case. Its director Oldřich Havelka has denied the accusations, saying his company was not responsible for the leak. The investigation of the case was long and complicated since the leak occurred in a heavily industrialized region with a long list of possible suspects.