President Pavel halts prosecution of Czech special forces members in Afghan detainee case

President Petr Pavel has decided to halt the criminal prosecution of four Czech special forces soldiers charged in connection with the death of an Afghan detainee. The decision was announced by the Presidential Office on social media platform X on Wednesday.

The president took into account the exceptional nature of the wartime situation in which the incident occurred and noted that the soldiers were not primarily accused of violent crimes.

He also considered the complex international context of the case and the length of the investigation, which has lasted nearly seven years. The decision was co-signed by the Prime Minister.

The incident dates back to 2018, when the Afghan man, identified as Khan, shot and killed Czech dog handler Tomáš Procházka and wounded two others at the Shindand base in Herat province.

After being captured by Czech forces, Khan was interrogated and later died. According to Czech media, the soldiers faced charges including extortion and failure to follow orders.