The Prague Municipal Court of Appeal gave former Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanová a chance for additional compensation. The authorities prosecuted the former TOP 09 politician for several years, only to be acquitted in full by the courts.
The Ministry of Justice paid Vlasta Parkanová roughly 1.6 million crowns for the accusations related to the purchase of CASA military aircraft, which were dismissed by the court after nine years of investigation. In addition, the ex-minister filed a lawsuit and demanded another 8.5 million for her accusation.
The judge of the circuit court rejected the lawsuit, because according to her the compensation from the ministry is sufficient, but Vlasta Parkanová appealed. And the Municipal Court in Prague granted it on Wednesday.
“In the case of the claim for compensation from the own criminal prosecution and the claim for compensation for property damage (defense costs, editor’s note), the judgment of the court of first instance was annulled and the case was returned to it for further proceedings,” a spokesperson of the Prague Municipal Court confirmed to Seznam Zprávám Adam Wenig.
In addition, according to Wenig, Parkanová should receive more money for the disproportionate length of the criminal prosecution. The Court of Appeal increased the original sum of 43,000 crowns by another 30,000 crowns.
Parkanová and her lawyer Tomáš Sokol have not yet responded to Seznam Zpráv’s questions.
The accusation against Parkan was based on the fact that the former minister did not sufficiently check the price of the CASA planes. But the prosecution failed with this claim in court.
“The Court of Appeal is convinced that, especially from the statements of the experts contacted by the defense, it can be concluded that the determination of the usual price is impossible for such goods,” Judge Petra Benešová wrote in the judgment, among others.
The Department of Justice, which last year awarded Vlasta Parkanová the aforementioned 1.6 million, stated that the case involved massive interference in her personal and work sphere.
The case of CASA planes
The purchase of four CASA transport aircraft for approximately 3.5 billion crowns was approved by the government in 2009. Three years later, it became clear that the purchase was being investigated by the police, when in June 2012 the police requested the extradition of Parkanová, then deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, for prosecution. Parkanová then resigned from the position.
Parkanová and the former head of the minister’s armaments section, Jiří Staněk, were accused of abuse of the authority of a public official and breach of duty in the management of foreign property with damage of 818.8 million crowns. Later, the amount was reduced to 777 million crowns. The indictment accused them of not having an independent opinion drawn up before making the purchase decision. However, the courts then acquitted Parkanová and Staňko of the charges. Staněk also received compensation for the unauthorized prosecution.
