Bohuslav Sobotka’s assailant to be charged with attacking a public figure

The man who physically attacked a Social Democrat politician at a rally will face a regular rather than fast-track trial and could face up to six years in jail. A spokesman for the Office of the Brno State Attorney said the attack was not being classified as a misdemeanor as originally thought, but as an attack on a public figure for which the ceiling is six years in jail.

The man, who was heavily intoxicated at the time of the incident, approached Social Democrat deputy leader Bohuslav Sobotka and punched him in the face, bringing him down. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the attack had nothing to do with the election campaign but was reportedly the man’s way of getting revenge for the rent-deregulation that Mr. Sobotka had introduced when serving in the post of finance minister.