Supreme Court to reopen 57-year-old case of sabotage

The Supreme Court will reopen a 57-year-old case involving 74-year-old Cyril Mihalica, found guilty under the communist regime. He was sentenced to three years in prison for setting fire to an agricultural stack during the period of forced collectivisation in the early 1950s. Mr Mihalica has defended his actions - and sought full exoneration - ever since the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia. He has said his was a political act aimed at morally boosting the public against the communist regime. He says his trial which ensued in the 1950s was also politically motivated. At the time of the incident Mr Mihalica was just 17 and was part of a group of fifteen who wanted to use small acts of sabotage against the communist regime. Mr Mihalica was the only one uncovered in the ensuing investigation by the communist police.