Roztocil given 13 year sentence for murder of student in decades-old case

A Prague court has sentenced Rostislav Roztocil to 13 years in prison for the murder of an Egyptian student in a case that goes back more than 30 years Mr Roztocil immigrated to Germany in 1985 and was tried and sentenced in absentia. The court found him guilty and sentenced him to thirty years in prison. Mr Roztocil was only arrested in 2000 when he returned to Czech soil; he later escaped from a Czech prison. Mr Roztocil has maintained his innocence in the case, saying his trial was revenge by Czechoslovakia's secret service for alleged spying. Last year a Czech court struck down his earlier conviction and ordered his case reopened. He appealed Friday's verdict immediately after it was handed down.