CZECH CORRUPTION FIGHTER UNDER ATTACK BY JUSTICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 001275

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2015
TAGS: EZ KCOR
SUBJECT: CZECH CORRUPTION FIGHTER UNDER ATTACK BY JUSTICE
MINISTER

Classified By: Political Officer Mark Canning for reasons 1.4(b) and (d
)


1. SUMMARY. (C) In the midst of a very public battle between
Justice Minister Pavel Nemec and the Supreme State Prosecutor
(Attorney General) Marie Benesova, Benesova's number two,
Deputy Attorney General Jaroslav Fenyk, contacted the Embassy
to air grievances and his version of events. Fenyk provided
documents, many internal, that he claims show the Justice
Minister has exercised a rarely used power to overturn
verdicts, suspend sentences, and interfere in personnel
assignments. Fenyk was not able to say specifically why Nemec
has allegedly done this, though he suggested that there are
several high-profile corruption cases to be prosecuted soon
and that Nemec might want to remove Benesova before this
happens. Nemec has prepared a short list of possible
replacements. Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, on the other
hand, has said that it would be politically counterproductive
to sack Benesova at this time.


2. BACKGROUND. (U) The Czech republic's highest ranking
prosecutor is Marie Benesova, who has had the position since
January 15, 1998. Six years is a relatively long time in the
mercurial world of Czech politics. In that time the nation
has had 12 Justice Ministers, though both Pavel Rychetsky and
Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla served more than once in
acting capacities. The current Justice Minister, Deputy Prime
Minister Pavel Nemec, took up the post in August, 2004, and
has been at loggerheads with Benesova the entire time. Two
weeks after Nemec assumed the position, he and Benesova had a
public falling out over the case of Viktor Kozeny, a Czech
fugitive living in the Bahamas. When asked about the case,
Benesova's office revealed that although Prague had no
extradition treaty with the Bahamas, a 1925 treaty between
Czechoslovakia and Britain would be honored and extradition
would be requested. Justice Ministry Spokesman Peter Dimun,
whom Fenyk refers to as the Deputy Justice Minister, went on
the nation's most widely watched commercial channel, TV Nova,
to say that Benesova's office had irresponsibly leaked the
information without consulting the Justice Ministry
beforehand. Dimun implied that Kozeny, now alerted to the
possibility of extradition, would take steps to avoid
prosecution. In defense of Benesova, Fenyk, and former
Justice Minister Rychetsky both said it would have been
pointless and dishonest to deny that extradition was being
pursued.

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NOT EXACTLY A PRINCE OF A FELLOW
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3.(C) One month after the Kozeny incident, Benesova and
Nemec clashed again when a member of the ruling family of
Qatar, Hamid Bin Abdul Sani-al Thani, was arrested and
charged with sexually abusing more than a dozen under-aged
girls. In April of this year, 3 weeks before the case came to
trial, Nemec, explaining that bilateral relations were being
strained, ordered that the Prince be extradited to face trial
in his homeland. Benesova disagreed, saying that such
intervention threatened the independence of the Czech
judicial system, and added that the Prince should be tried in
the Czech Republic, where the crime was committed, and where
the witnesses live. In May, the court convicted the prince
and sentenced him to 30 months in prison, a sentence he
appealed. Meanwhile, in a separate legal proceeding, after a
lower court backed up Benesova and ruled Nemec had no
authority to release the Prince, the Czech Supreme Court
ruled in favor of Nemec. The prince was released and has
since returned to Qatar. Fenyk doubts the Prince will be
prosecuted at home. Nevertheless, Benesova's office will
have to spend roughly half a million crowns (USD 21,000)
translating all the court documents into Arabic. Fenyk added
that a few days after the Supreme Court made the ruling, one
of the court's vice-presidents, a Mr. Kucera, received a new
car from the Ministry of Justice. Fenyk also pointed out that
several of the judges on the Supreme Court had publicly
stated support for Benesova's stance before issuing their
ruling, leading to suspicions that someone had gotten to them
and persuaded them to change their minds.


4. (C) In the aftermath of the case of the Qatari Prince,
Benesova asked that a survey of similar cases in the past be
conducted to find out whether a Justice Minister had ever
overturned or ignored a verdict. The research was conducted
by Olga Koubova, of the Ministry of Justice's International
Relations Department. She surveyed several thousand cases
that predated the case of the Qatari Prince and ten that came
afterward. She could not find a single case where a previous
court decision had been overturned. Days after her findings
were made public she received a one line dismissal notice
telling her that she was being removed from office. No
explanation was given. Fenyk had a copy of the dismissal
notice and passed it to the Embassy.


5. (C) Fenyk also raised other cases in which he alleged that
Nemec was interfering. One case involves a bankruptcy judge,
Jiri Berka, who was arrested in April, 2003, in connection
with the failure of Union Bank. The case has provoked
considerable public speculation about the influence of high
ranking officials, intelligence operatives, and allegations
of murder contracts on investigative reporters. Fenyk told
the Embassy that Nemec had been wiretapped speaking with
suspects in the case.


6. (C) Fenyk also mentioned the case of theft at a military
base in Pribram, 45 minutes south of Prague. In that case,
56 hand grenades and thousands of 7.62mm rounds were stolen.
10 suspects were convicted and sentenced to prison, though
the material was never recovered. Nemec tried to have the
Supreme Court release two of the ten, Tomas Dunaj-Jurco and
Jaroslav Cerny. Fenyk explained that the Minister of Justice
has rarely used extraordinary powers to ask that certain
convicts, for example, a single mother with many children, be
released from the obligation of serving a sentence. The court
refused Nemec's request. According to Fenyk, the law only
allows the Justice Minister to make this request once, but
Nemec has repeated the request. Since Fenyk cannot imagine
any legitimate reason why the two convicted of receiving
stolen grenades and rounds should be freed, he can only
suspect there is some illegitimate reason behind Nemec's
determination to pursue their release. The Supreme Court
should rule on this soon.


7. (C) Fenyk also complained that Nemec was using a number of
administrative measures to harass, intimidate and discredit
Benesova. These measures include a recent audit, that Fenyk
boasted turned up a discrepancy of only ten dollars, making
Benesova's office one of the most accountable in the country.
Fenyk also said Nemec has accused nearly two dozen
prosecutors, including many in Benesova's office, of unfairly
prosecuting dissidents in cases before the end of communism
in 1989. Fenyk himself was one of those so accused. Fenyk
defended himself by saying that the only person he prosecuted
was the son of a famous dissident musician. The son refused
mandatory military service, a crime according to the Czech
criminal code.

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WHO WOULD WANT THE JOB?
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8. (U) Newspaper reports say Nemec has drafted a list of five
possible replacements for Benesova. Fenyk told us that he
knew that at least one of the persons named had turned the
job down. He said that anyone who took the position would
have to fight the perception that he or she had been paid off
by Nemec. In addition, Fenyk pointed out that with elections,
and presumably a new Justice Minister, only nine months away,
serious candidates are going to find the position
unappealing. Even the Prime Minister has publicly stated that
it is hard to imagine anyone replacing Benesova, whom he said
he considers honest and incorruptible. But the wheels are in
motion, and if she isn't removed before the election next
June, she's likely to be replaced soon afterwards.

COMMENT: (C) Jimmy Carter once said that the sad duty of
politics is to establish justice in a sinful world. In theCzech Republic, the
sad truth is that political power can be
used and is used to manipulate the justice system. Benesova
may be blunt, and at times impolitic, but she is honest, even
incorruptible, and in the world of Czech politics, that is
saying something. She has some support among prosecutors,
some judges, and one small party, the Christian Democrats.
But the main parties dislike her and the Prime Minister's
support for her grows weaker with each public statement. If
Nemec succeeds in removing Benesova, an outcome that looks
increasingly probable, it is very unlikely that her successor
will be as persistent and determined to go after cases of
corruption. In addition, if Benesova is removed and replaced
by a political ally of the Justice Minister, many of her
immediate subordinates, including those responsible for
fighting serious economic crimes and who have battled against
corruption alongside Benesova, say they will leave the
Prosecutor's office in a show of solidarity. The Czech
Republic already has a fairly abysmal record in prosecuting
white collar crime and corruption. Just this week the head of
the Prime Minister's office was forced to resign when a local
TV station filmed him at a meeting with a Polish lobbyist
allegedly discussing illegal payments. Without Benesova and
her team, a bad situation could get even worse.
MUNTER