Before the vote on the agenda, the senior opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) fiercely criticised steps of officials such as Supreme State Attorney Renata Vesecka, who they say inadmissibly interfered in last year's investigation of Deputy Prime Minister Jiri Cunek (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL), suspected of corruption. The coalition politicians are opposed to the lower house discussing the judiciary at a special session.
They say this would be interference in the judiciary's independence. In the vote today, the agenda of the extraordinary session, initiated by the opposition, was supported by 98 of the 199 deputies presents. Apart from the opposition CSSD and Communists (KSCM), the agenda was supported by Vera Jakubkova and Olga Zubova, two deputies for the junior ruling Greens (SZ). Not even their votes Czech Communists start contesting leading posts before congress ...
Czech Supreme State Attorney calls for more independence ... were enough for the left opposition to push the agenda through. The CSSD had initiated the extraordinary session in reaction to the recent verdict by the Prague Regional Court that said CSSD shadow justice minister Marie Benesova need not apologise to a group of senior judicial officials, including Vesecka, for having branded them "judicial mafia." The court said the officials had inadmissibly interfered in the Cunek case and other criminal cases. The coalition says the verdict has not yet taken effect. According to Justice Minister Jiri Pospisil (Civic Democrats, ODS), the lower house's debate on open legal cases would mean opening the Pandora's box. The opposition, on its part, says that serious facts surfaced during witnesses' testimonies at the Prague Court, and a possible verdict by a court of appeals can change nothing in it. The CSSD and the KSCM say the government is trying to sweep the affair under the carpet.
(Ceske Noviny)
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