Prague, Oct 5 (CTK) – Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec (Social Democrats, CSSD) has filed a criminal complaint over a photomontage featuring him with a naked girl and indicated that this may be an attempt by the government ANO whose head Andrej Babis owns the Mafra media firm via the Agrofert group.
Mafra claims that the picture reached the editorial office of the Expres.cz web page that it operates.
Chovanec says the photomontage was ordered by “employees of a certain publishing house” with the aim of compromising him.
He previously turned to the secret services and yesterday, he released the photograph on Twitter.
Chovanec informed Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats CSSD) of the case during yesterday’s government meeting.
Sobotka would not comment on it. “It is necessary to provide scope for an objective investigation into the matter,” he said after the government’s meeting.
Businessman Babis is deputy prime minister and finance minister. He did not attend the government meeting yesterday because he is abroad.
He told CTK that he rejects the accusation and that he ascribes the matter to “Chovanec’s PR.”
Chovanec wrote on Twitter that in summer, he was informed of that employees of a certain publishing house want to release his photomontage to make him talk.
“A couple of weeks ago, I received information that the photomontage has been delivered to the customer. That is why I turned to the secret services,” Chovanec wrote.
Mafra said Chovanec’s photo with a naked girl was sent to the Expres.cz editorial office. “According to standard journalistic rules, two Expres.cz editors immediately arranged a meeting with the minister on October 1,” Mafra said.
This morning, they visited Chovanec at the Interior Ministry and asked him whether it is a montage, or whether he knows something about it.
According to Mafra, Chovanec told them that he knows what it is, that someone is trying to denigrate him this way and that he has already informed security bodies.
“He did not return the photo in question to the editors and he said he will turn to the police,” Mafra wrote.
Chovanec wrote that he handed all information he gained to the police as part of a criminal complaint.
“For connoisseurs, I release the photomontage. Nothing special…,” he commented on the quality of the photograph.
On Twitter, Chovanec released the original photo, from which the photomontage was made.
