Constitutional Court annulled decision on Jiřikovský's detention, but man remains behind bars
The Constitutional Court found a violation of rights for Tomáš Jiřikovský from the bitcoin case. He remains in detention, however, and the regional court must decide again.
Jiřikovský remains in detention despite Constitutional Court finding
The Constitutional Court annulled the regional court's decision to keep Tomáš Jiřikovský in detention, as reported by seznamzpravy.cz. The court found that his constitutional right to judicial protection was violated during the proceedings. In practical terms, however, nothing changes for the accused — he has remained behind bars since last August.
The key failing was that Jiřikovský was never fully acquainted with the state prosecutor's statement, despite repeatedly pointing this out. "Although he drew attention to this fact, his objections were ignored. Proceedings conducted in this manner did not, in the Constitutional Court's view, meet constitutional requirements for the right to judicial protection," said judge rapporteur Tomáš Langášek.
Langášek also emphasised that the court dealt exclusively with procedural flaws, not with the substantive justification of the detention itself. "We did not deal with the merits of the case, that is to say whether the detention of the applicant was or is justified," he added.
The finding specifically relates to the decision of the Municipal Court in Brno of 11 March, which rejected Jiřikovský's request for release, and the subsequent resolution of the regional court of 16 April, which dismissed the accused's appeal. It is this regional court decision that the Constitutional Court annulled. The Constitutional Court rejected the constitutional appeal as it concerned the original municipal court resolution. The regional court will therefore have to decide on Jiřikovský's appeal again.
Jiřikovský faces up to 30 years in prison for legalising proceeds from criminal activity. Detention is reviewed every three months; most recently it was confirmed in mid-April by the Municipal Court in Brno and in May also by the regional court.
Charges against former minister and other individuals
The bitcoin case expanded during the course of this year to include new suspects. In early May, detectives charged former Justice Minister Pavel Blažek, who resigned last year due to the scandal, his former deputy Radomír Daňhel, and Jiřikovský's lawyer Kárím Titz. All three are accused of legalising proceeds from criminal activity and abuse of official authority, with charges against one of them subsequently expanded to include further conduct related to money laundering. Blažek, Daňhel and Titz are being prosecuted at large and face five to twelve years in prison.
Minister Blažek accepted bitcoins worth nearly one billion Czech crowns from Jiřikovský last March as a gift to the state. The entire case, including the donation of cryptocurrency, is being handled by the Regional State Prosecutor's Office in Olomouc as a single matter. Since the end of April, it has also been dealing with a criminal report filed by current Justice Minister Jeroným Tejc on the basis of the findings of an internal audit into the bitcoin case.
Source: Google News CZ — Crime (cs)