The case contributed to the fall of Necas’s government in 2013. Photo credit: Petr Necas, via Facebook.
Brno, Nov 29 (CTK) – The Czech Constitutional Court has today dismissed all complaints in the case of abuse of the Military Intelligence service (VZ), in which Jana Necasova, now wife of former prime minister Petr Necas, and three former VZ agents received suspended sentences.
Necasova, under her former surname Nagyova, was the head of Necas’s office when he was Prime Minister.
Necasova was found guilty for conspiring to abuse the powers of her office, as in 2012 she assigned the intelligence agents to illegally shadow Necas’s then wife Radka Necasova. Nagyova wanted to speed up Necas’s divorce by gaining information about his wife’s alleged adultery.
Later, Necasova/Nagyova also ordered the surveillance of two employees of the Government Office. The case contributed to the fall of Necas’s government in 2013.
In 2019, the appeals court found Necasova guilty of abusing the powers of the military intelligence service, alongside former intelligence officers Ondrej Palenik, Milan Kovanda and Jan Pohunek.
Necasova was given a three-year suspended sentence and the maximum professional ban of ten years.
Her co-defendants, Palenik, Kovanda and Pohunek, received suspended sentences of 2.5 years, two years and 20 months, and a ban on working in intelligence services or security forces for eight and seven years and 20 months, respectively.
Necasova and the trio of former VZ agents lodged several complaints against the verdict. The Constitutional Court examined them in a collective hearing, but all were rejected.
“In the conditions of democracy with the rule of law, respecting the fundamental rights and freedoms, where the state power is bound by law, it is impossible for the armed forces and secret services of the state to fulfil the orders of any political officials, even the top ones, let alone those who are not so senior, without a due legal process,” said judge Jan Filip in his ruling.
“As a result, the refusal to execute the instructions and tasks to carry out the surveillance is the only legally acceptable conduct of the complainants,” the ruling said.
The situation would be the same even if it were the prime minister issuing an instruction outside of the legal framework and routine procedures. Even in such a case, the agents should refuse to obey, concluded the ruling.
