Former Civic Democrat senator to serve term after court rejects health plea

A former senator for the Civic Democrats must begin serving a prison term, a court in the north Bohemian town of Chomutov ruled on Tuesday. Alexandr Novák, who is also a former mayor of Chomutov, had been avoiding going to jail on health grounds. However, the court found that he was not too ill to serve a four-year term for corruption. Police arrested Mr. Novák at his office shortly after the court’s verdict was announced on Tuesday and brought him to Pankrác prison in Prague.