Prague, Jan 10 (CTK) – A Czech court imposed on Tuesday suspended sentences of 1.5 years on Jana Necasova, former PM Petr Necas’s aide and current wife, and nine months on each lobbyist Ivo Rittig and his lawyer David Michal for leaking classified information of the counter-intelligence service BIS.
The verdict, which also bans Necasova from jobs with access to classified information, has not taken effect.
Tomas Jindra, former aide to an agriculture minister, has been acquitted of the leak of information charges.
The court said in 2012, Rittig learnt from Necasova, whose name was Nagyova at the time, and from the agriculture minister, that Prime Minister Petr Necas (Civic Democrats, ODS, in office 2010-2013) received a classified document from the BIS director.
Supposing the document to concern himself, Rittig asked his lawyer to meet Nagyova, who, for their part, acquainted the lawyer with its content.
This enabled Rittig to take measures to cover up his controversial influence on various state bodies.
The four suspects pleaded not guilty.
Necasova said such activities would threaten her in her post, and would also jeopardise Necas, the prime minister with whom she had a long-lasting love affair.
Rittig called the criminal charges absurd, saying he had never any classified information at his disposal.
The suspected information leak case, together with other scandals, toppled the Necas cabinet in mid-2013. Necas divorced shortly afterwards and married Nagyova.
