Amnesty International Czech Republic: We will not help Roman Smetana

13. 11. 2012

Roman Smetana, the Czech bus driver who has been sent to prison for drawing antennae on the heads of politicians, pictured on pre-election posters displayed on public transport buses in the Moravian town of Olomouc, will not be defended by Amnesty International, its Prague spokesperson Martina Parizkova said today.

Roman Smetana was sentenced by Judge Mrs Langer, the wife of Czech right-wing politician Ivan Langer, whose picture Mr. Smetana defaced. Mrs. Langer sentenced Mr. Smetana for "damaging private property" to public work and to a fine. Mr. Smetana paid the fine, but refused to do the public work. As a result, he has been sent to prison for 100 days. He is in prison now. He is also liable to be sentenced to three years' imprisonment for failing to report to prison. While Ms Parizkova said that the sentence was, in the view of Amnesty International, disproportionate, she nevertheless expressed the opinion that "there is a conflict of interest between the right to private property and the right to express one's views" in Mr. Smetana's act. This is why, in the view of Amnesty Internation Czech Republic "there is no space for initiating a rectification of the situation".

The background of the case is HERE HERE

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