Former ministry official sent to prison over journalist murder plot

A former high-ranking Foreign Ministry official was sent to prison for eight years on Monday for plotting to murder a top investigative journalist. Karel Srba, former General Secretary under ex-Foreign Minister Jan Kavan, was found guilty of planning to kill Sabina Slonkova, a reporter for the daily Mlada Fronta Dnes. The plot was foiled when the man hired to kill Ms Slonkova went to the police. The case - the first of its kind in the Czech Republic - attracted enormous media attention. Rob Cameron has been following the story, and joins me in the studio now.

Former ministry official sent to prison over journalist murder plot

Karel Srba, photo: CTK

"Well the case first came to light last year, when Ms Slonkova, an investigative reporter covering security & political issues, was contacted by police. They told her they'd received reliable information that someone wanted to kill her. It transpired that the person hired to carry out the killing - a rather eccentric petty criminal nicknamed "the Lemon" - had decided he couldn't he go through with the murder, and had gone to the police instead."

What was the link between "the Lemon" and Karel Srba?

"The Lemon" told police that he'd been hired to kill Sabina Slonkova by two local businessmen. Some meticulous police work established that they'd been hired by a woman called Eva Tomsovicova. And Mrs Tomsovicova was a family friend of Karel Srba, who was at the time General Secretary at the Foreign Ministry. The two businessmen and Mrs Tomsovicova also receive prison sentences for their role in the affair, though the court ruled that ultimately the order to kill Sabina Slonkova came from Mr Srba himself."

Why did he want her killed?

"It seems the answer to that one is simple: money. Sabina Slonkova had been sniffing around Mr Srba's rather dubious financial dealings at the Foreign Ministry, and she came to the conclusion that most of those dealings were aimed at the personal enrichment of Karel Srba and his friends. Ms Slonkova published a number of articles on alleged corruption and fraud at the ministry, something Karel Srba wasn't very happy about. And voila: the murder plot was born."

But I gather there have been some doubts over Srba's guilt in this case.

Eva Tomsovicova, photo: CTK

"The doubts surround some of the more juicy details of the Sabina Slonkova affair, which at times looked like the script of a particularly bad Hollywood film: a hitman called "the Lemon", a glamorous but brave reporter, a corrupt government official etc. The police even claimed to have found millions of crowns in cash in Karel Srba's apartment, along with a photo of Sabina Slonkova with the word "liquidate" scrawled across it. The whole thing sounded too improbable to be true. That's not how the court saw it, of course. The judge ruled the murder plot was all too real."

And the accused maintain their innocence.

"They do. Karel Srba, Eva Tomsovicova and the two Vimperk businessmen all say they've been set up. Srba himself told reporters the case was reminiscent of the political trials of the 1950s. The only man who's admitted his role in the affair is "the Lemon" - the man hired to kill Sabina Slonkova. He was spared prosecution in return for blowing the whistle on the whole plot."

But this isn't the end of the Sabina Slonkova affair?

"No, indeed not. Karel Srba and his three accomplices have all appealed against Monday's verdict, so it could drag on for some time yet. And the case could also have implications for former Foreign Minister Jan Kavan. There's absolutely no suggestion he was in any way implicated in the plot, but he, after all, was the man who hired Karel Srba at the ministry, so his judgment will be called into question. Mr Kavan refused to comment after Monday's verdict, saying the case was not yet closed."