Prague, April 17 (CTK) – Michal Murin will leave the post of Czech General Inspection of Security Corps (GIBS) director as of the end of April, he announced on the GIBS website on Tuesday amid a several-week dispute with PM Andrej Babis (ANO) who sought his temporary suspension.
Murin, 55, who has headed the GIBS since 2016, announced his departure for the civilian sector.
He said his remaining in the post could lead to challenging the GIBS’s work results.
Murin said the situation around the GIBS and him, as it developed in recent months, makes it impossible for him to continue as GIBS director.
“Although I committed nothing unlawful or unethical, I am afraid that my remaining at the head of the GIBS could give rise to unfounded challenging of its work results, mainly by the two high state attorneys [Lenka Bradacova and Ivo Istvan] and the supreme state attorney [Pavel Zeman],” Murin wrote.
Colonel Murin is leaving the security corps after 36 years.
“In all posts and under all circumstances, I always tried to do my job in the best possible and most responsible way,” he wrote, adding that as GIBS director, he strived to secure conditions for GIBS officers to duly fulfil their tasks.
Last week, Murin was taken to hospital due to exhaustion and long-lasting stress.
In March, he said Babis had repeatedly exerted pressure on him to quit as the GIBS head. Babis reportedly told him that if he quit voluntarily, it would “pass without a scandal.”
Babis denied this, but he subsequently started criticising Murin in public and launched disciplinary proceedings against him. He said he does not trust Murin as GIBS head and challenged the GIBS’s financial management.
The disciplinary proceedings are closed to the public. Murin previously said he would use all legal means to defend himself.
The opposition in parliament says Babis’s cabinet wants to gain control of the security corps and the GIBS, also in connection with the prosecution Babis faces over a suspected EU subsidy fraud.
