Supreme Court: Prosecutor overlooked billionaire Pelec's illness reports before filing charges
The state prosecutor in Rakovník had medical reports on Zdeněk Pelec before the indictment, yet ignored them. The Supreme Court deemed the prosecution legally discontinued.
Supreme Court criticises Rakovník prosecutor's procedure in Pelec case
Novinky.cz reports that the Supreme Court has published the written reasoning for its decision in the case of billionaire Zdeněk Pelec, whose criminal prosecution in connection with a fatal traffic accident was discontinued due to a serious oncological illness. The court pointed out shortcomings in the procedure of Rakovník state prosecutors in its ruling.
Pelec's defence counsel requested discontinuation of prosecution on 18 January and submitted current medical reports. Nevertheless, two days later the state prosecutor filed charges. "The state prosecutor, despite having the proposal to discontinue criminal prosecution and medical reports on the accused's state of health, made no reaction whatsoever to this highly significant fact," stated the Supreme Court.
The prosecutors' office furthermore failed to respond in December to the defence's offer to conclude an agreement on guilt and sentence, despite Pelec being willing to admit his guilt.
The District Court in Rakovník, after the charges were filed, commissioned an expert assessment and discontinued proceedings on its basis. Chief State Prosecutor Lenka Bradáčová challenged this decision by appeal. However, the Supreme Court classified it as lawful, logical and appropriate and rejected the appeal.
The court simultaneously noted that expert assessment of the accused's state of health could have been arranged by the prosecutors' office itself. Moreover, the prosecutors did not dispute the expert's conclusions in any way or request a review assessment. In its ruling, the Supreme Court also recalled Novinky's finding in September of footage of Pelec moving in public — prosecutors in Rakovník then told the editorial office that even after their investigation they found no reason to revise the expert assessment.
The court also pointed out that if Pelec's state of health were to improve significantly and the obstacles to prosecution were to cease, the law permits resumption of proceedings. However, the expert assesses the prognosis of his illness as exceptionally unfavourable.
The tragic accident occurred on 4 June of last year on a road between Nový Strašecí and Řevničov in the Rakovník district. Pelec, driving a Lexus, collided head-on with an oncoming vehicle, whose 61-year-old driver died on the spot. A blood test revealed more than 1.6 per mille of alcohol in Pelec's system. Before the commencement of court proceedings, the businessman concluded an agreement with the bereaved on financial compensation. Proceedings were subsequently discontinued by both the District Court in Rakovník and the Regional Court in Prague — both on the basis of an expert assessment according to which the accused would not be capable of participating in the main hearing within a period of three or more months.
Source: Novinky.cz