Prague, Jan 18 (CTK) – The Czech Justice Ministry will be considering seeking the extradition of Zdenek Pfeifer, who is charged on suspicion of spreading HIV virus knowingly and was detained on Phuket island in Thailand, ministry spokeswoman Tereza Schejbalova told CTK on Wednesday.
Pfeifer has allegedly infected at least another three men.
The Czech Republic and Thailand have no bilateral agreement on extradition for prosecution. It would have to apply for Pfeifer’s extradition on the basis of “reciprocity,” which means to assure Bangkok that Prague would proceed in the same way in similar cases.
“We have information on the stay and detention of Zdenek Pfeifer in Thailand from the media only. If the information is confirmed via police cooperation, the Justice Ministry will be considering filing a request for his extradition from Thailand. However, it is too early to say which particular steps will be taken,” Schejbalova said.
The Czech Republic and Thailand have only signed an agreement of extradition of convicts to serve prison sentences in their homeland. This could be applied if Pfeifer were convicted in Thailand and asked for serving his sentence in the Czech Republic.
The Thai authorities started searching for Pfeifer, 49, after an Interpol warning. He allegedly stayed on Phuket on the basis of a tourist visa that expired in 2015.
The Czech police have been searching for him for several months. They proposed his charges last September.
Pfeifer learnt he was HIV positive in September 2013. Despite that he did not tell his sexual partners about it.
The police found out that he had sex with at least 23 men. They questioned more than 1000 people from the whole Czech Republic. Many of them contacted the police after a media call.
The police are convinced that the number of victims was much higher.
