Lay judge dismissed in Bárta case

One of the lay judges in the corruption trial of former transport minister Vít Bárta has been expelled for comments made in a newspaper interview. Assessor Marie Jungwirthová told the daily Lidové noviny on Wednesday that the five days of testimony had made her and the other lay judges “feel like vomiting”, and described the case as a cesspool. When asked to explain, she said she had a sinister feeling from witness Krystína Kočí, who accuses Mr Bárta of having offered her a half-million crown bribe. The court’s spokeswoman says that the assessor’s statements gave cause to doubt that she was unbiased.