The Prague 5 Circuit Court has acquitted the former Transport Ministrer
Vít Bárta and former Public Affairs Party MP Jaroslav Škárka of all
charges in a bribery case that the court first ruled on in April 2012. The
circuit judge Jan Šott thus confirmed a ruling of the Prague Municipal
Court from November. Mr Bárta, who is also the former head of the Public
Affairs Party deputies club, was accused of bribing his fellow party
members Kristýna Kočí and Jaroslav Škárka to gain influence. Because
Mr Škárka had spent part of the money he received from Mr Bárta before
reporting it, he was also accused of accepting a bribe. Last April, Judge
Šott handed down a suspended 18-month sentence to Mr Bárta and a
three-year jail sentence for Mr Škárka. But in November, the municipal
court accepted the appeals of both defendants, reversing the previous
ruling. After confirming the city’s ruling on Wednesday, Mr Šott said
that his hands were tied by the higher court’s decision, and that the
whole case has become political. The State Attorney’s office will appeal
the case with the Municipal Court.