Czech Republic: immunity for Babiš and Okamura?
The Czech Chamber of Deputies' Mandate and Immunity Committee has recommended that Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Tomio Okamura should not face criminal prosecution. The governing parliamentary majority is expected to confirm the immunity of the two top politicians in March.
Attempt to suppress justice
This is bad news for the justice system, Hospodářské noviny fears:
“The purpose of immunity has always been to ensure that MPs are not prosecuted for their political views. ... However, it was never intended to protect politicians from prosecution for ordinary crimes such as violence, fraud or racially motivated acts. Babiš and Okamura are facing charges precisely for such acts: Babiš for subsidy fraud and Okamura for incitement to hatred. ... The fact that powerful politicians are not exempt from prosecution is not a failure of the rule of law that needs to be corrected by a parliamentary vote. It is proof that the justice system is working. And Babiš and Okamura's efforts to obtain immunity are nothing more than an attempt to suppress the justice system.”
Coalition of accomplices
Respekt comments:
“Babiš will formally escape a conviction, but we know that he tried to defraud us taxpayers of tens of millions of crowns. The situation with Okamura is more complicated. We don't know how the court would rule. But public opinion is clear: his election posters were racist. ... Babiš and Okamura are not being prosecuted for fulfilling their mandate but because they want to evade justice. ... Anyone who votes against their being handed over to the judicial authorities becomes an accomplice to their machinations.”