Former MP Feri faces indictment for three cases of rape

The Czech police announced today on Twitter that criminal investigators completed the investigation in the case of former MP Dominik Feri, and "sent a proposal to the District Attorney's Office for Prague 3 to file an indictment for three cases of rape."

Feri became an MP in 2017 at the age of 21, which made him the youngest and the first Black member of the Chamber of Deputies in the history of the Czech Republic.

Last year, several women came forward accusing Feri of inappropriate behavior, such as asking for nude photos on the internet, and non-consensual sex. The police launched an investigation after several media outlets, such as Deník N and A2larm published the testimonies.

While acknowledging that he personally failed in some situations when he acted inappropriately towards women, he denied committing any sexual violence. "I regret all such failures and I deeply apologize for them," he said, adding that he believes he has changed.

After the accusations were published, Feri announced his resignation from his mandate to serve a deputy in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house Czech parliament. He resigned from the TOP 09 party in May 2021, and did not participate in the parliamentary elections that took place last October.

As Seznam Zprávy notes, Feri was charged this March for three acts, namely two completed rapes and one attempted rape, including one where the victim was 17 years old at the time of the alleged crime.

The Feri scandal was a watershed moment in the Czech Republic, akin to the international #MeToo, Johanna Nejedlová, Executive Director at the Konsent platform for education, advice, and campaigning for greater protection of women, told Expats.cz. “It’s likely that ten years ago, the Feri scandal would not have become such a huge issue,” she said.