News

Temperatures dropped as low as -15 degrees Celsius in north and northeast Czech Republic on Friday night. The lowest temperature of -17.7 degrees was recorded at the Lysá hora mountain in Beskydy, north Moravia, meteorologists said. Strong frost is expected in most parts of the country on Saturday night before a spell of warmer weather arrives next week.

The head of the Dawn party, MP Tomio Okamura, on Friday visited Vlastimil Pechanec who is serving a 17-year-jail term for a racially-motivated murder of a Romany man. Mr Okamura said he wanted to hear Pechanec’ account of the events; he said the 2003 trial against Pechanec had been manipulated, and would like to have the case reopened. In a reaction, former state attorney who oversaw the case, Renáta Vesecká said Mr Okamura’s claims were “ridiculous”.

Vlastimil Pechanec was sentenced to 17 years in prison after he was found guilty of stabbing a Romany man to death at a disco in Svitavy in 2001. He later told the court he was a “supporter of the white race”, and wanted the country to be free of Roma and black people.

President Miloš Zeman has nominated Stanislav Křeček to the post of Ombudsman, following the resignation of Pavel Varvařovský late last year. Mr. Křeček has served as deputy Ombudsman since April of last year. The president’s nomination will be considered by the Senate which can put forward two nominees of its own. The only other contestant for the post is Anna Šabatová, a human rights activist, who worked for the country’s first Ombudsman, the late Otakar Motejl.

The Czech Supreme Court on Friday cleared former Public Affairs MPs Vít Bárta and Jaroslav Škárka of corruption charges. Mr Bárta, former head of the Public Affairs party, was accused of bribing several MPs of his party to ensure their loyalty; Mr Škárka, meanwhile, was charged with accepting the bribe. A lower court in Prague originally handed the men suspended sentences, a verdict which was overturned by an appeals court. Justice Minister Marie Benešová then filed a complaint to the Supreme Court which however ruled no offence was committed, arguing the cash had been a loan rather than a bribe.