Immunity committee to issue recommendation on Babiš and Okamura in February

The Mandate and Immunity Committee of the lower house will issue its recommendation to the Chamber regarding whether to lift the immunity of ANO leader Andrej Babiš and SPD leader and speaker of the Chamber, Tomio Okamura, by February 3, Committee chair Helena Válková (ANO) told journalists.

Babiš is suspected of having wrongfully acquired a 50 million crown EU grant for his Stork’s Nest Conference Centre. Tomio Okamura and his SPD have been charged with incitement to hatred over an election poster within the party’s anti-migrant election campaign. Both claim they are innocent of any wrongdoing and the  accusations are politically motivated.

Since the new Czech coalition has a 108 seat majority in the lower house it is unlikely that they will be stripped of their parliamentary immunity.