LIVE: The Municipal Court in Prague will issue a verdict in the case of the Hornbill’s nest
Update: 09/01/2023 08:32
Issued by: 09/01/2023, 08:30
Prague – The announcement of the verdict in the Čapí nest case attracted journalists in particular to the building of the Prague Municipal Court today. So far, only a few interested members of the public have come in advance to pick up a ticket, but they lack a place in the conference hall. The verdict will be announced after 09:00, the chairman of the court panel, Jan Šott, has allowed the media to have an audio broadcast.
The defendants Andrej Babiš and his former advisor Jana Nagyová (both ANO) demanded on Friday that they did not have to attend the announcement of the verdict in person. But that doesn’t mean they can’t come if they decide to at the last minute. According to procedural rules, their presence is not necessary, any appeal on their behalf can be filed by their attorney based on a power of attorney.
There are 75 seats for the public in the meeting hall, of which 29 are occupied by accredited journalists. The court spokesman started issuing the tickets, which are free, after eight o’clock in the morning. There are several policemen standing guard in front of the building, but people are not congregating there.
The case concerns a fifty million grant for the construction of a congress complex in Central Bohemia. State representative Jaroslav Šaroch accuses Nagy of subsidy fraud and damage to the financial interests of the EU, and Babiš of aiding subsidy fraud.
If the court were to find the ex-prime minister guilty, Babiš would become the first candidate convicted without jurisdiction in the direct election of the head of state. The head of the ANO opposition movement has been denying the blame for a long time, so it cannot be expected that he would accept a possible condemning verdict or that he would withdraw from the presidential election after its announcement. Babiš describes the process as political, according to him, the “poly-hitch cartel” and some media are behind the accusations. Nagyová, who unsuccessfully ran for ANO in the senate elections last fall, also denies guilt.
The indictment alleges that at the turn of 2007 and 2008, Babiš arranged for the withdrawal of Farma Čapí hnízdo from Agrofert and the sale of shares to his children and his partner. According to the public prosecutor, he did this so that the farm would appear to meet the conditions for receiving a subsidy for small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the indictment, Nagyová submitted a successful application for a subsidy. Its payment, according to the plaintiff, created the Regional Council of the Central Bohemia region of almost 50 million crowns.
The public prosecutor proposed three-year terms with a five-year probationary period for both Babiš and Nagyová. He also wants fines for them, ten million crowns for Babiš and half a million crowns for Nagyová. According to the prosecutor, all the conditions for imposing a sentence below the statutory rate, which amounts to five to ten years in prison, are met.