"Czech police sweep nets senior government aide; Raids include ministries; leader vows to remain" by Dan Bilefsky | New York Times, June 14, 2013
PRAGUE — Prime Minister Petr Necas of the Czech Republic said on Thursday he had no intention of resigning after authorities from an organized crime unit raided government offices and arrested several officials, including one of his senior aides.
Several hundred officers took part in the nationwide raid that included the defense ministry, government headquarters, and City Hall in Prague, the capital, the Czech news media reported. The reports said police had also searched safe deposit boxes at a branch of Komercni bank in Prague and conducted a sweep of the offices of influential lobbyists.
Interior Minister Jan Kubice told Parliament on Thursday that Necas had been visited by the head of the organized crime unit and two state attorneys. He said the visit was “in connection with a step in the criminal proceedings” but did not elaborate.
According to the online version of Mlada fronta DNES, a leading Czech newspaper, those arrested included Jana Nagyova, the prime minister’s chief of staff and an influential aide. Czech news media reports said she had come under scrutiny before for receiving large bonuses from the state.
Lubomir Poul, the chief of the government office, was also detained, as were Milan Kovanda, the head of military intelligence, and his predecessor, Ondrej Palenok, the newspaper reported.
Petr Tluchor and Ivan Fuksa, former members of Parliament from Necas’ party, were detained. Both had recently resigned under unexplained circumstances.
While the motives for the arrests remained unclear, analysts said that the detention of a senior member of Necas’s inner circle threatened to bring down the center-right coalition government, already weak after a series of corruption scandals had pushed it to the brink of collapse.
But Necas told reporters that he remained confident in Nagyova and had no reason to think she had done anything illegal. He said he had no intention of resigning.
“I am personally convinced that I did not do anything dishonest and that my colleagues have not done anything dishonest either,” he said. “I expect that law enforcement agencies will quickly explain their reasons for launching such a massive operation.”
President Milos Zeman’s office said he would meet on Friday with Necas, Justice Minister Pavel Blazek, the national police chief, the chief of public prosecutors, and the head of the opposition Social Democrats to discuss how to proceed.
The Social Democrats called a party leadership meeting to discuss its response. Some opposition members were already calling for early elections.
Jiri Pehe, a political scientist who is director of New York University in Prague, said that if people close to the prime minister were implicated in corruption, he would come under heavy pressure to resign or face a no-confidence vote.
His coalition partners could also withdraw their support and bring the government down.
“Unless the police have completely misfired, this could have serious and far-reaching repercussions,’’ Pehe said.
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"Questions swirl around Czech raids" Associated Press, June 15, 2013
PRAGUE — A multipronged scandal involving the prime minister’s top aide, his estranged wife, military spy chiefs, former ruling party lawmakers and kilograms of gold raised unanswered questions Friday about the troubled government of Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas.
Uh-oh.
Nobody outside the halls of Czech power seems to know what’s going on or how the rapidly-moving developments are connected, but a list of them reads like elements in a spy novel.
The Czech military was spying on the prime minister’s estranged wife. Millions of dollars and a stash of gold bars were seized by hooded police in 31 overnight raids nationwide.
Czech police and prosecutors said Friday they believe Necas’s closest aide ordered a military intelligence agency to illegally spy on three people, vastly overstepping her authority.
Prosecutor Ivo Istvan said that Jana Nagyova has been charged with abuse of power and six others face charges of abuse of power or corruption.
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"Czech prime minister steps down" Bloomberg News, June 18, 2013
PRAGUE — Prime Minister Petr Necas submitted his resignation Monday, prompting the Czech Civic Democrats and their coalition partners to work to quickly replace him to keep the conservative government in power through 2014 and fend off Socialist attempts to force early elections.
Leaders of the ruling parties are trying to narrow the field of candidates for prime minister after a scandal over spying and bribery charges forced Necas to quit. He submitted his resignation to President Milos Zeman at Prague Castle, rather than face an opposition-led no-confidence vote Tuesday.
Necas leaves a $217 billion economy mired in the longest recession since current records started in 1996.
He focused on austerity, which hurt household consumption while businesses curbed spending amid the euro-area debt crisis. The country has endured seven governments and six prime ministers since Zeman finished his four-year term as prime minister in 2002.
‘‘For us, the priority is to preserve this coalition project,’’ Martin Kuba, the Civic Democrats’ first deputy chairman and industry minister, said at the party’s headquarters in Prague.
A government formed from current coalition parties ‘‘is important to allow the continuation of responsible budget policy.’’
Zeman said he will meet the leaders of political parties starting Friday to hash out the options.
Necas will remain as caretaker prime minister until Zeman names his successor.
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"Czech prosecutors prepare to charge ex-prime minister" New York Times, July 09, 2013
PARIS — Czech prosecutors asked the Parliament on Monday to strip former prime minister Petr Necas of immunity from prosecution. Law enforcement officials said the request was a prelude to charging Necas with corruption.
Necas would be the highest level official to face corruption charges in the country since the fall of communism.
A bookish, churchgoing father of four, Necas came to power in 2010 promising to clean up a culture of cronyism and corruption, but he was forced to resign last month after his chief of staff was charged with bribery and abuse of office.
The chief of staff — Jana Nagyova, a close confidante of Necas — is accused of ordering the secret services to spy on Necas’s estranged wife.
Nagyova has also been charged with offering bribes in the form of posts at state-owned companies to three members of Parliament who opposed a government austerity plan.
Prosecutors said they were examining whether Necas had links to the bribery scheme, which some analysts and supporters of Necas have dismissed as the routine trading of political favors rather than a criminal act.
Necas said Monday that political agreements could not be considered crimes....
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"Czechs seek American in slaying of 4" by Karel Janicek and Petr Josek | Associated Press, May 24, 2013
BRNO, Czech Republic — An American man is suspected of killing a family of four and is on the run in the Czech Republic and probably armed, officials said Thursday.
The bodies of the victims, identified by neighbors as a married couple and their two sons, were found by firefighters as they battled a blaze in a house in Brno, the country’s second-largest city.
Jaroslav Mikoska, a spokesman for the fire department, said rescuers immediately realized that ‘‘a violent crime had likely been committed there.’’ The fire did not badly damage the house.
Brno police spokeswoman Petra Vedrova identified the suspect as Kevin Dahlgren, born in 1992, and released his photograph. A Facebook page showing the same photograph says that Dahlgren is from Palo Alto, Calif., and lives in Brno.
Czech public television reported that Dahlgren was the nephew of the parents. Police did not immediately confirm that relationship.
A local band, Ukulele Orchestra jako Brno, confirmed that two of its members were among the victims but declined to comment further.
Dahlgren’s Facebook page contained a link to the band.
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"US suspect in Czech killings arrested" by Karel Janicek | Associated Press, May 25, 2013
PRAGUE — An American man accused of killing a family of four in the Czech Republic has been arrested in the United States, police said Friday.
Leos Trzil, regional police chief in Brno, said Kevin Dahlgren was arrested after the Czechs issued an international warrant.
Dahlgren was arrested by FBI agents at Washington Dulles International Airport, about 26 miles west of Washington, said FBI spokeswoman Lindsay Godwin.
The suspect fled to the United States after the victims — identified by neighbors as a married couple and their two sons — were found by firefighters who responded to a fire Wednesday in a house in Brno.
Police investigator Antonin Hrdlicka said the pilots and crew of the flight from Vienna were informed that the suspect was onboard.
Czech police said Dahlgren was born in 1992 and released his photograph. A Facebook page showing the same photograph says that Dahlgren is from Palo Alto, Calif.
Police spokeswoman Petra Vedrova said that all four victims were related.
A Czech public television station reported that Dahlgren was the nephew of the slain parents, but that was not confirmed by police.
A local band, Ukulele Orchestra jako Brno, said that two of its members were among the victims.
The band declined to comment further.
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