Czech news in brief for February 2: Friday's top headlines

The Czech Chamber of Deputies, prompted by the opposition movement ANO, has announced it will hold an urgent parliamentary session on Thursday, Feb. 8 to discuss Prime Minister Petr Fiala's undisclosed share in a credit union.

Last week, Czech media outlet Seznam Zprávy revealed that failed to mention the share in his property statement, potentially subjecting him to a CZK 50,000 fine. Fiala defended himself, citing oversight because he had held a common account. He contemplates donating the fine to charity if it's not statute-barred. Fiala criticizes ANO's move, deeming it as political point-scoring and without any real substance.

The Czech charity organization, Caritas CR, announced that the Epiphany collection received a record-breaking amount of CZK 172.5 million in donations this year. The collection, which has been held since 2000, aims to help the elderly, homeless, disabled, and those in difficult life situations.

The majority of the funds were collected by child carollers dressed as the Three Kings, who received CZK 165 million through cash boxes and donations in early January. Two-thirds of the funds will be used in the regions where they were collected, with 15 percent going to diocese charity projects, 5 percent to national projects, 10 percent to international humanitarian aid, and 5 percent to operational costs.

The District Court for Prague 3 has decided not to make the anonymized justification of the judgment in the case of former member of parliament Dominik Feri available to the public. This is due to a request under the Act on Freedom of Information for the protection of victims of crimes and the fact that the verdict has not yet acquired legal force. 

The court believes that the intimate details about the victims and the effects of the crimes on their psyche would not be fully protected by anonymizing the verdict. The circuit court also drew attention to the fact that it cannot be ruled out that the Municipal Court in Prague will overturn the judgment on appeal and return the case back to the circuit court for further evidence.

Prague police are seeking a man in his 40s with dark circles under his eyes, around 180 centimeters tall, and slim, suspected of kidnapping a woman from her car outside a school and raping her on Thursday in Prague 9. 

He wore gray sweatpants and a light beige faux-sheep sweatshirt, emitting a musty smell and speaking Czech. The victim, a woman in her 30s, was found half-naked and handcuffed in her car. Authorities suspect the man of both rape and unlawful restraint. The incident occurred in the afternoon, with the perpetrator leaving the victim's car on Okřínecká Street. 

Since the introduction of border checks with Slovakia four months ago, Czech immigration police spokesman Josef Urban has reported that they have detained 58 people smugglers and 1,185 refugees who were attempting to cross Czech territories to other EU states. At midnight, the Czech government will end these checks and will only continue them on a random basis. 

Police will still monitor and analyze migration flows and focus on controlling potential smuggling routes. They will adjust the number of officers deployed according to the current situation. Police President Martin Vondrasek said earlier that the police are conducting checks along the entire 251-kilometer-long border with Slovakia.

The U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Bijan Sabet, expressed disappointment over the Czech government's exclusion of North American company Westinghouse from the next phase of the nuclear tender. Sabet highlighted Westinghouse's AP1000 technology as the most advanced and proven civil nuclear solution, providing safe, clean, and reliable energy.

The government decision favored French company EDF and Korean KHNP for the construction of up to four new reactors. Sabet emphasized Westinghouse's long-term relationship with the Czech Republic and its potential contributions to nuclear cooperation and small modular reactors. The Czech government cited non-binding and unclear aspects in Westinghouse's offer. The company has yet to comment.

On Feb. 1, 2024, the first flight of a new charter route from Prague to Abu Dhabi took off at 10:20 from Václav Havel Airport. Operated by Smartwings with a Boeing 737 MAX, the route is for Der Touristik group, encompassing travel agencies Fischer and Exim Tours. The weekly flights to the United Arab Emirates capital will run until early May.

The UAE is a popular destination for Czech travelers, with over 100,000 passengers using the connection last year. Der Touristik considers Abu Dhabi, known for its safety and attractions like the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and entertainment parks, a valuable addition to Prague's airport offerings.

The electronic registration system for secondary schools, delayed by attachment upload issues, has been repaired, announced Cermat director Miroslav Krejčí. Minister of Education Mikuláš Bek confirmed the fix but emphasized the need for security retesting. Penetration tests are scheduled for tonight or Friday. The system, initially set for applicants tonight, is expected to operate by Friday evening.

Minister Bek apologized for the delay and urged patience. The system will launch module by module based on upcoming needs. Students can submit three applications, streamlining the admission process, with results determined by entrance exams and priorities. The new system aims to simplify and improve admission procedures.

Prague can resume negotiations with Crestyl regarding the placement of Alfons Mucha's Slavic Epic in Savarin Palace on Wenceslas Square, as the municipal court accepted the appeal and overturned the preliminary measure prohibiting the contract. The Slavic Epic, comprising 20 large canvases painted by Mucha over 18 years, has faced ownership disputes.

While one heir withdrew a lawsuit after an agreement with the municipality, another, Jarmila Mucha Plocková, filed her own lawsuit disputing ownership terms. The court decision allows Prague to freely deal with Mucha's work, with negotiations to determine its permanent location now underway.

In Prague, the Metropolitan Court sentenced 27-year-old Ukrainian Ivan Pashku to 17.5 years in prison for the brutal murder of a Bolt taxi driver in 2022. Pashku confessed to the planned murder, stabbing the driver multiple times before fleeing in the stolen car. The court ordered him to pay nearly one million crowns in compensation to the victim's family.

Pashku's motive remains unclear, and he suggested he might suffer from schizophrenia. His defense questioned his sanity, advocating for protective custody over punishment. Pashku's expulsion from the Czech Republic is pending, despite objections based on his upbringing and family ties in the country.