The District Court in Teplice today approved the release on parole of former MP Dominik Feri, who has served two years of his three-year sentence for rape. The court imposed a three-year probationary period under supervision, and also ordered the defendant to apologise to the victims and participate in a suitable programme offered by the Probation and Mediation Service.
The court agreed with the proposal by public prosecutor Ondrej Langr and Feri’s defence lawyer.
The lawyer representing the victims spoke out against the release, stating that no improvement of Feri had been proven, and the women were afraid and concerned.
The prison psychologist said that Feri’s personality was balanced, he had established social relations, and was not dangerous to society. She did not recommend keeping Feri in prison any longer.
Three conditions must be met for parole: in addition to serving half of the sentence, the prisoner must demonstrate rehabilitation and show a commitment to leading a law-abiding life.
In his closing statement, Feri said that upon his potential release, he would seek a way, through his lawyer, to address the women’s concerns. He stated that he had led a law-abiding life before entering prison and intended to continue doing so. “I dare to assert that my rehabilitation has been demonstrated,” he said.
The Teplice court rejected Feri’s request for release in mid-January. At that time, Feri defended himself. Today, he had a defence lawyer and a confidant in the courtroom. In mid-April, the Regional Court of Appeal decided to return the case to Teplice, formally granting Feri’s complaint.
The prosecutor said today the additional four months in prison had done Feri good. “You can see a shift compared to the last public proceedings, he has worked on himself,” said Langr, who suggested the supervision order following Feri’s release. He mentioned that the change in the convict’s attitude may be expedient, but it can be assumed that he would lead a law-abiding life.
The victims’ representative requested to supplement the evidence with a psychological evaluation, which the court rejected.
His defence lawyer stressed that one could not compare the behaviour of a person close to the age of a juvenile with that of a person almost 30 years old.
While in prison, Feri was cleaning offices. He had several commendations and no disciplinary offences. According to witnesses, he worked above and beyond the call of duty, had smooth relations with inmates, and never had any conflicts with other staff.
Feri told the court today that a considerable amount of time had passed since the criminal acts, and that he himself had changed. He was 19 and 21 at the time of the offences and is now 29. His priorities have changed, he said, and he wants to lead a proper life and start a family.
“I am very sorry for the harm the victims feel,” he said, adding that he would contact the women’s representative after his release to ask how he could alleviate their harm. “The lessons learned from the punishment were crucial,” he said. He also said there was nothing more he could do.
The former TOP 09 member entered prison at the end of May 2024 after a Prague court found him guilty on all counts of the indictment in November 2023, sentenced him to three years in prison, and ordered him to pay for the property and non-proprietary damage to the victims. Feri was unsuccessful in his appeal. He denied guilt from the start, questioning the young women’s credibility.
