Macek ordered to pay Rath damages over public slap

Prague’s High Court has ordered Miroslav Macek to pay David Rath CZK 100,000 in damages for slapping Mr Rath on the back of the head on stage at a medical conference in 2006. Mr Macek, a former Civic Democrat politician, had previously been ordered to publicly apologise to Mr Rath, a Social Democrat MP and the governor of Central Bohemia. Tuesday’s verdict cannot be appealed. The incident, which was followed by a short scuffle, was seen on video by many people around the world; it was the culmination of a spat between the two that started when Mr Rath publicly accused Mr Macek of marrying for money.