Former communist border patrol chief denies responsibility for killings

Jan Muzikář, who served as deputy chief of the border patrol under the communist regime, has denied responsibility for the deaths and serious injuries of close to a dozen people who were shot or mauled by border patrol dogs trying to flee communist Czechoslovakia. The 90-year-old Muzikář on Tuesday refused to testify in court citing poor health. His lawyer, Jaroslav Ortman, said at the trial that the accused had been responsible for the protection of the country’s borders, but had never issued direct orders to border guards. In view of his advanced age, the state prosecutor is proposing a two-year suspended sentence and a fine of 100,000 euros.