Pirate Party files lawsuit against Klaus

Prague, Feb 13 (CTK) - The Czech extra-parliamentary Pirate Party filed an administrative complaint about President Vaclav Klaus over the keeping secret of information about his New Year amnesty with the Prague City Court yesterday, party deputy head Jakub Michalek has told CTK.

The Pirate Party refers to the law on free access to information.

According to the lawsuit, the Presidential Office refuses to provide information on the preparation of the broadly criticised amnesty, including its authors, and on the people who knew about it beforehand.

Michalek's request for the respective information was rejected by Presidential Office head Jiri Weigl.

"The (Prague) Castle (Klaus's office) said in its decision that the president need not justify anything. However, this is at variance with the law on free access to information," Michalek wrote in a press release.

He added that the Presidential Office's decision cannot be appealed and this is why he had filed an administrative complaint.

Klaus's amnesty applies to convicts with low suspended or prison sentences and elderly convicts.

It also halts criminal proceedings if they lasted for more than eight years, and if the maximum prison sentence that can be imposed in such cases does not exceed ten years.

Especially this provision was sharply criticised since it applies to some serious financial crime cases.