Prague, March 21 (CTK) – State attorneys have sent the murder of Antonin Bela, a head of the Czech underworld, who was shot dead in Uvaly near Prague in 1996, to court, it ensues from a statement by the Regional State Attorney’s Office in Prague for CTK on Tuesday.
Two men face up to 15 years in prison or an exceptional sentence, which is 20 to 30 years in prison or life sentence.
The police cleared up the case a few weeks before it became statute barred a year ago.
A big progress in the investigation was made one year ago, when the police accused Bela’s former bodyguard Pavel Srytr on March 17, 2016.
One week later, the police arrested and accused Jan Kaco, who was also earning his living as a bodyguard.
Both were detained based on new witnesses’ testimonies which detectives gained. Srytr has been in custody since he was detained, Kaco was later released.
Bela was murdered by a masked commando in April 1996. The group broke into his house during the night and shot at him several times from an automatic rifle.
Media then speculated about the controversial businessman Frantisek Mrazek being behind Bela’s murder.
Mrazek himself was murdered ten years later. Srytr was his bodyguard after Bela’s murder.
The Bela case was cleared by the Tempus special police team that was formed at the police presidium in 2013. It focuses on looking into old unresolved cases.
