Vít Bárta standing trial for corruption

The trial of former transport minister and head of the junior coalition party Public Affairs’ parliamentary group Vít Bárta for corruption opened at a Prague district court on Monday. Mr. Bárta is suspected of having bought the loyalty of at least two former party members, Kristyna Kočí and Jaroslav Škárka, to whom he handed over large sums of money in cash. While Vít Bárta admits to having given them money he claims the transactions were “personal loans”. If found guilty, Mr. Bárta, widely perceived as the party’s de-facto leader, could face a sentence of up to six years. Jaroslav Škárka is also being tried for accepting the bribe. The trial has been receiving a lot of media attention as the scandal around Mr. Bárta brought the government to the brink of collapse last year. Public Affairs have been tweeting from the trial, while many news organizations were offering live coverage.

Author: Sarah Borufka