Social Democrats sue Czech Police, former head of organized crime squad

The opposition Social Democrats have announced that their lawsuit against the police and Jan Kubice, the former head of a police unit fighting against organized crime, will be brought on Monday. The Social Democrats are suing both the Czech Police and Mr Kubice, whom they suspect of unlawful interference in political matters in the run up to 2006’s general election. A report which Mr Kubice has written and which accused senior Social Democrats including their leader Jiří Paroubek of having ties with the mafia was leaked shortly before Czechs went to the polls. The Social Democrats have said that they believe the leaking of this report seriously harmed them in the general elections. On Friday, Mr Paroubek released a statement saying that the Social Democrats’ complaints about the leak have ‘repeatedly been swept under the carpet’, and so for that reason the party was forced to bring a lawsuit which would start on Monday.