The court ordered Paroubková to return to her husband the painting he had taken from him
“The defendant is obliged to issue to the plaintiff the original painting, the author of which is Adolf Born, within three days of the legal force of this judgment,” Judge Barbora Hněvkovská decided. In the verdict, he describes that in Born’s lithograph, a figure in a green costume sits on a bench, has a colorful bird on his head and a gray-brown cat in his arms. The price of the work is approximately 30 thousand crowns.
According to the court, Paroubek proved that he bought the painting before 2005 (with another work by Adolf Born), ie while he was living with his first wife Zuzana.
This was confirmed by both his ex-wife and other family acquaintances, who saw both of Born’s paintings in the Paroubeks’ residence in Prague’s Stodůlky. Based on an agreement with the first woman after her divorce, the ex-prime minister acquired the work into exclusive ownership.
He married Petra Kováčová on November 17, 2007 and brought the painting together with other things to the common household they had in the new building in Velká Chuchle.
According to Paroubek, his wife left him on February 13, 2017. Their disagreements culminated two months later. At the end of April, his wife took home a painting accompanied by three bodyguards – despite Paroubek’s disapproval – including Born’s painting. The situation is captured in a video on which the politician provides her that there is no lithography.
Petra Paroubková testified differently. She claims that her daughter Margarita received the painting from Stanislav Gross to celebrate the christening, which took place on January 23, 2010 at the People’s House. Then he allegedly hung in his daughter’s room. After breaking up with her husband, she took the painting and placed it in the room that her daughter is now using.
According to the court decision, the mother was taken into care by the mother (September 2018):
Paroubek said that his wife confused it. According to him, the daughter received a painting from Gross, which he painted Jiří Anderle. There is a man on a bicycle holding a flower. The court took proof of photographs of this painting, the back of which reads, “May the wheel of fortune accompany Margarita throughout her life. Gross ”.
Gross’s wife Šárka said in court that they did not have any paintings by Adolf Borna at home, on the contrary, they owned a number of works by the painter Anderle, and her husband sometimes donated a painting by this author to someone.
According to the court, Paroubková thwarted the evidence
The framer who testified to the couple Jiří and Zuzana Paroubek in 2002 and 2003 also mounted several paintings before the court. After watching the video, she stated that 90 percent of her image was taken away, but she was not 100% sure.
The judge asked Petra Paroubková to present Born’s painting so that the witness could take a good look at it. Paroubková said she had broken glass. The judge warned her not to do anything with him and brought him to the next meeting as he is. However, Paroubková did not respect this.
“While only the windshield was damaged, the defendant also had the entire rear side replaced, which potentially contained the findings of the most valuable case in this case (…). The defendant’s conduct thus appears to be the purpose of the defendant, in an attempt not to provide the image of the court and the witness for examination, which, however, in the present case rather testifies in favor of the plaintiff. In this respect, the court had to rely mainly on circumstantial evidence, which complicated the evidence, but did not prevent it, “says Judge Hněvkovská in the judgment.
She concluded that the painting belonged to Jiří Paroubek. His wife ordered her to publish the work. At the same time, she has to pay her husband almost 26,000 crowns for legal representation.
Paroubková appealed at the end of January, and the verdict was still reviewed by a superior court. Paroubek filed a lawsuit to extradite the case in October 2017.
Even four years after the divorce, the Paroubeks are not divorced. The court battle over alimony for the daughter was especially protracted. Two months ago, the Municipal Court in Prague ruled that the former Prime Minister should pay ten thousand crowns a month for a child support. His wife took care of his daughter.
Jiří Paroubek believes that the divorce will be terminated in the course of 2021:
“My wife still does (divorce proceedings, editor’s note) for, because I think, as I am doing in my text messages, that it will be expressed in a natural way, so to speak, “said a former politician in front of the Chamber last December. His wife did not come to court at the time.
Jiří Paroubek held the position of Prime Minister from April 2005 to September 2006. A year later – after 28 years of marriage – he divorced his first wife Zuzana. Two months later, they married interpreter Petra Kováčová, who worked for the Government Office during his prime minister era. In November 2009, their daughter was born. The marriage fell apart in 2017.