Police charges against ex-minister over outsourcing dismissed

The Supreme State Attorney’s Office has dismissed police charges against the former minister of health Tomáš Julínek. He had been facing charges of abuse of office and breach of trust for outsourcing air rescue services to a private company. However, a spokesperson for the Supreme State Attorney’s Office said the police would need to produce more evidence if they want to pursue the matter further. Mr. Julínek, who was arrested in April, has described as absurd the accusation that he cost the state nearly CZK 800 million by getting private contractors to supply air rescue services; they had previously been provided by the defence and interior ministries via the army and the police.