Cases subject to Czech amnesty to be discussed for weeks

The judges have already started discussing these cases.

According to the Justice Ministry, more than 6000 prison sentences, 14,500 suspended sentences, 12,000 community work punishments, 340 home confinements will be subject to the amnesty. Courts said they expect to assess further thousands of cases of suspended sentences in relation to the amnesty.

Courts and state attorney´s offices will also deal with the cases of criminal prosecution that may be halted under the amnesty.

Over 6100 convicts have left Czech prisons within the amnesty so far. The numbers of convicts released has been falling and only 76 of them left prisons from Sunday noon to Monday morning.

The police have registered 40 crimes and 32 offences committed by the released convicts, mostly property delicts.

A group of senators plans to file a constitutional complaint against the amnesty this week, especially against the fact that it applies to long-term criminal prosecution, including serious economic crime.

Within the amnesty, prosecution should be halted if it has lasted over eight years and the suspect has not been facing more than ten years in prison.

The senators argue that the damaged citizens would not be able to gain compensation in these cases and their equality rights would be violated if these cases were halted.

The Czech Bar Chamber announced that damaged parties who do not have enough money to pay a defence lawyer may come and ask advice for free.

Mayors of some municipalities and heads of various schools removed Klaus´s portraits in protest against the amnesty.

The Social Democrat (CSSD) lower house group is to meet on Tuesday afternoon to initiate a special lower house plenary session trying to vote no confidence in the coalition government of Petr Necas (Civic Democrats, ODS) in relation to the amnesty.

Necas counter-signed the amnesty.

Klaus announced the amnesty that also applies to convicts with low suspended or prison sentences and elderly convicts on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Czech Republic.

Opposition but also some coalition lawmakers criticised the amnesty because it halts the criminal proceedings in some closely watched cases of financial crime and corruption.

Author: ČTK
www.ctk.cz