Court case adjourned in ex-MP rape investigation

The Czech High Prosecutor’s Office confirmed earlier this week the adjournment of the former member of parliament (MP) Dominik Feri’s ongoing rape court case. The Office for the Protection of Personal Data has also postponed proceedings on deciding whether Feri committed a criminal offense by revealing the name of a witness in the case.

Feri, who was a member of the TOP 09 political party, is currently facing a trial for two counts of rape and one attempted rape. The court hearing will resume in late July.

In an earlier court hearing, Feri had repeatedly said the name of a witness who testified against him. This is forbidden in legal proceedings, according to the Czech Criminal Code. He has also published YouTube videos about the case, criticizing his accusers. Deník N describes how some legal experts label this behavior as threatening.

"I perceive the decision of the Public Prosecutor's Office as evasive, and the legal and factual argumentation as selective and haphazard," said a representative of one of the victims, Adéla Hořejší. One of the victim’s lawyers also criticized the legal interpretation of rape, which makes it harder to prosecute Feri and causes the plaintiffs to "run into an impenetrable wall."