Court acquits former Public Affairs chief Bárta over wiretap leaks

Prague’s Municipal Court has acquitted former politician Vít Bárta and policeman Jan Petržílek. The pair had been accused of leaking wiretaps of the BIS counterintelligence service targeting then Prague mayor Pavel Bém and influential businessman Roman Janoušek. The state prosecutor may appeal Tuesday’s verdict.

Mr. Bárta headed the now defunct Public Affairs party, with whom he served as minister of transport.

The wiretaps were published in newspaper Mladá fronta Dnes and appeared to show that Mr. Janoušek was pulling strings at City Hall while Mr. Bém was mayor.