Court finds Vít Bárta and fellow MP guilty

A Prague district court found de facto head of the Public Affairs party Vít Bárta guilty of bribery, handing him an 18-month suspended sentence on Friday. Fellow MP and former Public Affairs member Jaroslav Škárka was found guilty of fraud and received a sentence of three years in prison as well as a 10-year ban as an MP. The court ruled Jaroslav Škárka had intentionally accepted a loan of 170,000 crowns from Mr Bárta in order to try and discredit him. On Thursday, Vít Bárta – who was accused of giving fellow party members hefty bribes in the form of interest-free loans in order to increase his influence – said he would leave high politics if convicted. Friday’s court ruling can still be appealed.

Author: Jan Velinger