Former MP Kott accused in Rath case stays in custody

Prague, Sept 12 (CTK) - Former MP Petr Kott, accused within the corruption case of former Social Democrat (CSSD) regional governor David Rath, will not be released from custody because he might flee and continue his criminal activities, a Czech court decided Wednesday.

Kott's lawyer Tomas Sokol appealed the decision.

Kott and his partner, hospital director Katerina Pancova, were among the group of people who manipulated purchases of hospitals operated by the Central Bohemian region, the police say.

Last week, the court rejected Pancova's request for release from custody, arguing that she might flee.

On Tuesday, an appeals court ruled that Rath cannot be released from custody, abolishing the decision of a lower level court that set a 14-million-crown bail for Rath's release from custody.

The police caught Rath in May with seven million crowns, an alleged bribe for the manipulation of a planned reconstruction project of the Bustehrad chateau in central Bohemia.

The court decided Wednesday that businesswoman Lucie Novanska, from the ML Complet company, cannot be released from custody either because she might continue committing crime. Novanska, charged within the Rath corruption case, offered a bail of 500,000 crowns.

According to the police, Rath received other bribes for influencing the results of tenders declared by hospitals run by the regional authorities he headed and ML Complet prepared the controversial tenders.

In the past few days, the court said two businessmen arrested within the case, Pavel Drazdansky from the Konstruktiva Branko firm and Martin Jires from Puro-Klima, may be released from custody. The state attorney appealed the decision, however.