MP Pekárek starts serving prison sentence

Hradec Kralove, East Bohemia, Feb 18 (CTK) - Czech deputy Roman Pekarek (formerly Civic Democrat, ODS) whom a court recently convicted of corruption, turned up in Hradec Kralove prison Monday to serve his five-year sentence.

Before being convicted, Pekarek was sworn in as a deputy last November to replace one of the three deputies from the senior ruling ODS who gave up their mandates as a result of turbulences in the party.

On arrival in the prison Monday, Pekarek told journalists that he will keep his mandate of a deputy. He asserted that he has been convicted of something he did not commit and wants to lodge an appellate review request with the Supreme Court.

Monday is the deadline for Pekarek to start serving his prison sentence.

Pekarek was found guilty of promising, in his former capacity as deputy mayor of Kolin, central Bohemia, to entrepreneur Petr Licka to make the town sell certain plots for a lower price than planned. In exchange, he asked a million-crown bribe.

Pekarek really succeeded in persuading the town council and assembly to reduce the price of the plots.

Besides the five-year jail sentence, the court fined Pekarek 250,000 crowns for bribe taking and abuse of power, and banned him from self-ruling bodies for five years.

The ODS branch in Kolin suspended his party membership.