Jailed MP Pekárek not to quit seat until legal avenues exhausted

Civic Democrat MP Roman Pekárek, who has been jailed for five years for corruption, says he will not give up his seat in the Czech lower house until he has exhausted all legal means of fighting his sentence, the news website ihned.cz reported. However, he cannot appeal a verdict handed down on Tuesday in connection with bribe-taking over a land deal. Mr. Pekárek only entered Parliament recently, when another member of his party resigned. He is set to receive an MP’s salary while in prison, though the Civic Democrats have proposed annulling the pay of convicted deputies.