Strasbourg, Oct 6 (CTK special correspondent) – Czech MEPs Pavel Telicka (ANO) and Pavel Svoboda (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) called on Khartoum to immediately release a Czech national who faces state subversion charges in Sudan in a debate on Sudanese developments in European Parliament on Thursday.
Jasek, who reportedly went to Sudan to help local Christians, was detained and imprisoned in the country last December and accused of state subversion together with three Africans.
It was not his first journey to a risky area. He helped Christians in Nigeria in the past.
His trial in Sudan started in August but it has been repeatedly adjourned since.
In connection with Jasek’s case, Svoboda emphasised the right to freedom of religion in the EP debate on Thursday.
He called on the Sudanese government to release Jasek immediately.
Some servers dealing with Jasek’s case assert that he and the other three suspects could even face a death penalty, but Veronika Kuchynova Smigolova the Czech ambassador to Egypt who has also credentials for Sudan, has not confirmed this.
She told CTK a few days ago that Prague does not consider the evidence submitted against Jasek reliable.
“From the Czech law’s point of view, he committed no offence. His Sudanese lawyer, too, says his chances seem to be good,” Kuchynova Smigolova said.
Czech diplomacy says Jasek stayed on a religious mission.
The Christian Solidarity Worldwide server has written that Jasek faces accusations of spreading untrue information and undermining the state.
Sudan’s Darfur region has been tormented by ethnic cleansing and violence claiming 2.3 million lives since its outburst in 2003, Telicka said during the EP debate on a report on the situation in Sudan which he helped complete.
He said Sudanese President Omar Bashir is a war criminal and the EU must impose sanctions on those violating human rights.
MEPs from all groups across the EP said during the debate on Thursday human rights have been violated in Sudan, armed force has been used excessively and NGOs and religious minorities have been intimidated.
Italian MEP Ignazio Corrao proposed a resolution demanding that Sudan immediately stop the atrocities and enable the entry of humanitarian aid.
