Prosecutor Jiří Sachr proposed punishments in the case of poisoning Bečva at the District Court in Vsetín.
For the Energoaqua company, he is asking for a fine of 21 million crowns, and for its director, Oldřich Havelka, a condition and a fine of one million crowns.
According to the indictment, the river was poisoned by cyanides and hexavalent chromium in September 2020. Both Havelka and the company’s representative Vladimír Kurka have repeatedly denied guilt.
For damaging and endangering the environment and unauthorized handling of protected wild animals and wild plants, Havelka faces up to five years behind bars, a ban on the company Energoaqua and a fine.
For Havelka, Sachr proposed a total sentence of imprisonment of around one third of the penalty rate with a conditional suspension of around one third of the rate. According to Sachro, the total monetary penalty he is requesting for Energoaqua corresponds to the approximate value of the dead fish.
The main trial will continue with the closing arguments of the defense and the defendants. The court set aside two hearing days for the final motions. After today, it will probably also be heard on Thursday, October 19. The court could issue a verdict in the monitored case on Monday, October 23, as previously announced by judge Ludmila Gerlová.
Indictment because of Bečva
According to the indictment, Bečva was contaminated with poisonous cyanides and hexavalent chromium. The poisoning affected the river in the section below Valašský Meziříčí as far as Přerov, fishermen caught around 40 tons of dead fish.
In addition to the waste water treatment plant from Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, the company’s manager, Oldřich Havelka, is also facing charges of environmental damage and unauthorized handling of animals. The representative of the company Vladimír Kurka and Havelka deny the guilt.
