Prague 9 deputy mayor resigns amid corruption case

Marek Doležal of the TOP 09 party resigned from his position as Deputy Mayor of Prague 9 on Tuesday, saying that he will also not run for any City Hall or Prague 9 position in the upcoming autumn local elections, the Czech News Agency reports. Earlier on Tuesday, the leadership of TOP 09 called on Mr Doležal to immediately resign his membership of the party, the website of Czech daily Deník N reported on Tuesday. Mr Doležal sat on the oversight board of the Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) and is mentioned in the police file on the investigation into a major corruption case in the company that is currently rocking the Czech political scene. According to currently available police information, Mr Doležal is not among the accused. He said that he was ready to return to municipal work in Prague 9 once his innocence is confirmed.

TOP 09 has also asked its MEP and Prague branch leader Jiří Pospíšil to end cooperation with his advisor Jiří Fremr, who resigned his membership of the party on Monday. Mr Fremr is not among those charged in the DPP corruption case, but is mentioned in related police files as having introduced the central figures of the case, former City Hall councillor Petr Hlubuček and businessman Michal Redl, to each other, according to reports in the media.