Former StB agents sentenced for harassment of actor Töpfer during communism
Two retirees who once worked for the communist secret police accepted suspended sentences for the persecution of actor Tomáš Töpfer during the period of normalisation.
Former StB agents sentenced for harassment of actor Töpfer during communism
A Prague court on Monday definitively confirmed an agreement between the state prosecutor and two former officials of the communist secret police. Karel Jonáš and Jaromír Miltner received two-year suspended sentences for having participated in the harassment of actor Tomáš Töpfer during the normalisation period. The Aktuálně.cz news server reported the development.
Töpfer worked in theatre in Ústí nad Labem in the 1970s and 1980s. The regime's security forces selected the actor as a target because of his rejection of socialism, the distribution of banned publications, and his Jewish origin. The secret police monitored him not only during theatre performances but also during his work for radio and television.
Panel chairman Jan Novotný concluded that both men had violated Töpfer's right to freedom of expression and to practise his profession. Jonáš additionally coordinated an informant who had been deployed to spy on the artist. The court emphasised that the agents knew their actions were in violation of international human rights agreements and the Czechoslovak laws of that time.
The defendants, aged 86 and 84, arrived at the hearing wearing sunglasses, which they had to remove. The judge described the sentence as a moral condemnation of StB methods and the entire communist system. The injured party, the actor, did not attend the court hearing and did not demand financial compensation from the perpetrators.
A third defendant, Juraj Štúr, did not appear before the court on Monday, so his case will be dealt with by the court later.
Approximately twenty StB officers participated in the persecution of Töpfer in total, eight of whom are no longer alive. Police accused four people this year, but had to release one due to mental incapacity caused by advanced age. In February, Töpfer stated that he had not initiated the criminal proceedings. "Given that we have two vetted StB collaborators in the government, this is no satisfaction to me," he said at the time.
Source: Aktuálně.cz
Source: Aktuálně.cz