Czech Republic: Local party believes Romani member is innocent of drug charges

Detectives have charged Marcel Cichý, a primary school teacher and local councilor in Trmice elected for the "Together for Trmice" movement, with illegal distribution of drugs. News server Romea.cz publishes a statement on his arrest from the "Together for Trmice" movement in full translation here:

Press release of the political movement "Together for Trmice" (Společně pro Trmice)

Last week a member of our political party (Mr Mgr. Et Bc. Marcel Cichý) was arrested, a fact we consider very serious and unpleasant. Our members have been intensively reviewing the matter over the past few days.

At the current time we do not have enough valid information at our disposal and the authorities’ investigation is underway. We do, however, live in a democratic state where one of the guaranteed principles of the rule of law is the presumption of innocence.

Anyone prosecuted for a crime should be viewed as innocent until convicted. We view our member as innocent until such time as the courts rule otherwise.

At the same time, we firmly believe these charges are the result of an unfortunate combination of various circumstances. We believe the facts will be explained during the course of the investigation and that Mr Marcel Cichý’s innocence will be confirmed.