Nečas loses perjury appeal, becoming first ex-PM convicted of crime

Former prime minister Petr Nečas has lost an appeal against a verdict under which he was found guilty of committing perjury to aid his wife. A Prague appeals court confirmed a previous one-year suspended sentence and a CZK 100,000 fine.

Thursday’s verdict means that Mr. Nečas is the first former Czech prime minister to be definitively convicted in a criminal case.

Mr. Nečas gave false testimony in a case of misuse of the Military Intelligence by his wife, who was then his head of office. The matter contributed to the fall of his government in 2013.

Author: Ian Willoughby