Police press charges over allegations of corrupt presidential pardon

The Police Presidium has confirmed that criminal proceedings have been launched over allegations of a corrupt pardon granted by President Václav Klaus. The police have declined to specify the exact crimes they believe were committed, saying only that two criminal acts are suspected and that no one has yet been charged. The claims were first raised in early October by the weekly Respekt, which reported on a pardon that might have been bought from the president’s office for an ex-police officer who was to serve two years in jail for corruption. President Klaus has strongly denied the allegations.