Public Affairs members give evidence against Vít Bárta

Several members of the junior Public Affairs party have testified against Vít Bárta, head of the party’s parliamentary group, who is to go on trial for bribery on Monday, according to Saturday’s edition of Mlada fronta Dnes. Mr. Bárta is suspected of having bought the loyalty of at least two former party members, Kristyna Kočí and Jaroslav Škárka to whom he handed over large sums of money in cash. While Vit Bárta admits to having given them money he claims the transactions were “personal loans”. If found guilty Mr. Bárta, who is widely perceived as the party’s de-facto leader, could face a sentence of up to six years. Jaroslav Škárka is also being tried for accepting the bribe.