Presidents grants pardons in nine cases

President Vaclav Klaus has issued nine official pardons in cases that include that of a woman abused by her husband, who shot and injured her husband and had been serving a five-year prison sentence. Mr Klaus also shortened a six-year sentence to three for another Czech woman, Jaroslava Tausova, convicted for embezzlement. The president's spokesman said on Thursday that in the cases the pardons were motivated by "humanitarian aspects".

Author: Jan Velinger