Czech Christian Democrat leader did not violate law - server

Former mayor of Vsetin and Czech Christian Democrat (KDU-CSL) leader Jiri Cunek did not violate any law when the town hall evicted some Romany families under his leadership, the server iDnes.cz. writes today.

The police have closed the investigation of the case and said that no criminal act occurred, iDnes.cz said.

The criminal complaint was filed by a group of 15 people representing the evicted Romanies, including some Romany activists.

The complaint said Cunek may have committed abuse of power, defamation of race, slander, curtailment of individual freedom, extortion, oppression and fraud.

The decision of police officer Libor Kostka was based on discrepancies of the claims by the evicted Romanies, the server said.

Kostka wrote in his decision that the televised report in which Cunek called Romanies an "ulcer" was biased.
"In the case of criminal complaints against Jiri Cunek, the media attention focused on the case played a major role. It was basically prompted by a single report," Kostka said.

His conclusions are in conflict with the findings of ombudsman Otakar Motejl.

He said in the spring that Romanies' eviction amounted to encroachment upon their basic right to respect to family and private life. The position was upheld in July by the Senate committee for education, science, culture, human rights and petitions.

Spokeswoman for the Vsetin town hall Eva Stejskalova said she was satisfied with the outcome of the investigation.
"We were saying from the beginning that everything was in order. We helped the Romanies beyond our duties," she told iDnes.cz.

The Vsetin town hall started the demolition of a ramshackle house last October. It ejected the local rent-defaulters, mostly of Romany origin, to other houses, some of them outside the town. At the time, the town hall was led by Cunek.