Langer fined for leak of Kubice report

Interior Minister Ivan Langer has been fined 9,000 crowns for the leak of the so-called Kubice report - a classified report by the country's intelligence service. The incident happened just days ahead of last year's parliamentary elections and the leak of the report, which claimed that organized crime had infiltrated the Czech civil service, caused a public uproar. Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek claims that his party lost the elections as a result of the ensuing scandal. Minister Langer has paid the fine but argues that he was not to blame. He says that at the time the committee was dealing with the Kubice report, he went to the bathroom for a couple of minutes, leaving the report open on the table. Any one of the people who remained in the room could have copied parts of the document then, Langer said. The fine was imposed by the National Security Office.