A court in Prague convicted the Czech mercenary Alois Polak, who fought in Ukraine on the side of Russia.
This is reported by the agency "Czech News".
According to the investigation, a Czech sniper killed at least four Ukrainian soldiers. The prosecutor asked for 25 years behind bars. The defense attorney appealed the verdict, noting that his client had probably already died.
The City Court of Prague considered his case for the third time. Polak was again found guilty of a terrorist attack and participation in a terrorist group. During previous hearings, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but then the sentence was based on the confessions of Polak himself on Facebook. Now the prosecution is based on the opinion of experts and metadata of the photo.
The investigation established that in December 2016, a Czech mercenary left Prague for Ukraine to fight for the "DPR". At first he was a sniper, later he commanded a platoon.
Polak was very active on Facebook, but has not posted anything since April 2022. That is why the lawyer concluded that he died. However, the court had evidence that at the beginning of the summer of 2023 Polak was still fighting in Ukraine.
If the mercenary returns to the Czech Republic, he can demand a new consideration of his case. In such cases, the original conviction is automatically overturned and the person is tried again.
- In 2021, the District Court of the Czech city of Plzeň sentenced to 20 years in a penal colony of the "DPR" militant who fought against Ukrainian forces in Donbas in 2015. The verdict was handed down to 27-year-old Lukash Novacek.
- Earlier, Jiri Urbanek with the nickname "Behemot" ("Hippus") was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison. From 2015 to 2018, he dug trenches, patrolled the streets, and was also directly at the scene of combat operations near Maryinka, Krasnohorivka, and Spartak.
- Czech Pavel Kafka, who was sentenced to three years in prison for participating in hostilities on the side of the separatists, wrote a letter to the Ukrainian embassy in the Czech Republic in which he repented of his actions.
- The legislation prohibits Czech citizens from serving in foreign armed forces, unless it is a NATO army. In order to legally participate in hostilities on the side of another state, fighters must request permission from the president. In August 2023, the President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel allowed 14 more citizens to participate in the war in Ukraine on the side of the Defense Forces.