The Czech Prime Minister has criticized the sentence handed down to a political ally in a high-profile case
Czech Prime Minister and leader of the populist ANO party, Andrej Babiš, has called the verdict against his party’s MEP, Jana Nádová, biased. This refers to a case in which an investigation against Babiš himself had previously been suspended.
This was reported by IDNES.
Babiš called the verdict against MEP Jana Nádová in the “Stork’s Nest” case—in which he is also a defendant—politicized and unfair.
"We are not guilty—many witnesses have said so. No one hid anything; the subsidy was granted legally… I can only describe this as a failure of justice… and the elimination of a political opponent," the Czech Prime Minister stated.
The Prague Municipal Court sentenced Nadyova to a three-year suspended sentence with a five-year probation period and a fine of 500,000 crowns for subsidy fraud and causing harm to the financial interests of the EU. The verdict can still be appealed in a higher court.
Andrej Babiš is also a defendant in the case, but in March, the Chamber of Deputies refused to authorize his prosecution, thereby halting further proceedings.
The charges relate to the manipulation of ownership rights to the company “Stork’s Nest” and its separation from Babiš’s Agrofert holding company so that it would meet the conditions for receiving European grants for small and medium-sized businesses. The investigation has been ongoing for nearly 10 years.
Zelenskyy and Babišwill meet in Yerevan without traveling to Kyiv.
Russia is preparing coordinated actions near Ukrainian embassies in various countries, disguising them as “commemorations of the victims of May 2 in Odesa.” Ukrainian analysts say this is part of an annual propaganda campaign, which is being intensified and expanded this time.
Babiš acknowledged that the Czech Republic will not meet NATO’s 2% of GDP defense spending target.
