Court convicts former hospital managers of blackmailing surgeons
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A court has found Jiří Malý, former Deputy Director of the Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM), and Petr Raška, former Head of IT, guilty of blackmailing cardiac surgeons Jan Pirk and Ivan Netuka. Malý received a fine of 50,000 CZK, and Raška was fined 80,000 CZK, though the verdict is not yet final. The case involved allegations of threatening to publish falsified compromising materials and misusing a surgeon's phone.
In other domestic news, a new instance of alleged election manipulation has surfaced, with thirty individuals reportedly registering their residency in a dilapidated building ahead of elections, with claims of promised jobs. This follows recent reports of similar residency tactics. Meanwhile, Dagmar Havlová, former First Lady and actress, publicly voiced her concerns about the state of democracy in the Czech Republic, hoping for civil society to rise and effect change.
Further reports include two foreign truck drivers brazenly using an emergency lane on the D1 highway to bypass a traffic jam, and a millionaire's investment in the Krkonoše mountains coinciding with his ski resort employees reportedly seeking local council seats. The planned revival of night train services is also facing significant obstacles and delays.