Prague, July 28 (CTK) – Ivo Istvan, head of the High State Attorney’s Office in Olomouc, north Moravia, handed a 40-page document on the prepared police reform, worked out by Robert Slachta, former police organised crime squad (UOOZ), to the commission of investigation of the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday.
Istvan told journalists after his 3.5 hour hearing behind closed doors that he gave the lawmakers all information on the reform, which is to take effect as from August 1, and that he answered their questions.
The commission also wants to hear Slachta, who left the police because he disagrees with the reform, on Thursday.
All three are among the loudest critics of the controversial reform, within which the UOOZ and the corruption squad will be merged into one body.
Commission chairman Pavel Blazek (opposition Civic Democrats, ODS) said Istvan’s testimony was very detailed and both agreed that the hearing was correct.
The police shake-up is also checked by Olomouc state attorneys who recently heard Police President Tomas Tuhy and his deputy Zdenek Laube.
According to the media, they want to look into whether an old plan for removing Slachta from his post may be the reason for the police restructuring.
“We are looking into some information we have found out from open files,” Istvan said.
He said as soon as the investigation is completed and assessed, it will be correct to provide information on the result so that no one may say that “we wanted to dishonour anyone.”
The commission wants to submit the results of its work by the end of October.
Blazek said the commission will meet again on August 18. It wants to hear 13 people altogether, including former UOOZ detective Jiri Komarek, the interior and finance ministers, Milan Chovanec (Social Democrats, CSSD) and Andrej Babis (ANO), respectively, Tuhy, Laube, Supreme State Attorney Pavel Zeman and Prague High State Attorney Lenka Bradacova.
