A group of Czech senators is considering a constitutional lawsuit against President Milos Zeman accusing him of high treason, after he said there was not enough evidence of Russia’s involvement in a 2014 ammunitions depot blast.
“I assume that we will at least deal with the possibility of filing [a lawsuit]over high treason,” the head of the Czech Senate, Milos Vystrcil, told local media on Monday, adding that lawmakers would consult experts on the matter first.
The Senate factions of the two liberal-conservative parties, ODS and TOP 09, also confirmed they would discuss a proposal to file a lawsuit against the president at their meeting on Tuesday.
“The steps taken by the president of the republic in recent days show that the president is not acting in the interests of the Czech Republic,” the factions said on Twitter, adding that the situation could “no longer be ignored.”
Vystrcil and others accused Zeman of having divulged sensitive information about a live case in his TV address on Sunday, and claimed that could jeopardize the “security” of the country.
In his speech, Zeman broke an almost week-long silence on the scandal that has rocked relations between the Czech Republic and Russia, insisting there was not enough evidence to back up new claims about Moscow’s involvement in the blast at an ammunitions depot in Vrbetice in 2014. He said investigators were working on two theories: one that suggested the blast was a result of the mishandling of explosives, and another that suggested “foreign intelligence service” interference – a theory that emerged only a few weeks ago.
His words came amid the bitter row that occurred after the Czech government accused Moscow of involvement in the incident.
Zeman also said there was no evidence that the infamous Russian duo, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who were accused by London of poisoning former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in 2018, were anywhere near the ammunitions depot, despite claims of their involvement.
Moscow denied the allegations, but Prague expelled 18 Russian diplomats immediately after leveling the accusations, prompting the Kremlin to respond in kind, declaring 20 Czech diplomats personae non gratae.
Vystrcil, who was also present at the security briefings on the case, and was “provided with the details of the investigation,” later told CNN Prima that there were some “details” Zeman “chose not to disclose, but must surely be aware of.”
Pavel Fischer, head of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee, swelled the wave of outrage, saying Zeman was not acting in the interests of the Czech people, but as Russia’s “advocate.”
Meanwhile, dozens of Czech public figures, including historians, writers, film directors, and politicians, have launched a petition urging the government to file a constitutional lawsuit against the president.
“President Zeman again acted as an advocate and agent of the Russian Federation, and not as the head of our state,” the petition reads. It was also signed by Michael Kocab, a former Czech minister, who oversaw the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the former Czechoslovakia in the 1990s.
Zeman has not commented on the accusations so far.
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