In theory, Czech president Václav Klaus’ controversial amnesty for thousands of criminals could be used to halt proceedings or punishment in 18 important cases of economic crime, but it may not necessarily halt prosecution for all of them. Supreme State Attorney Pavel Zeman told ČTK that damages in these cases ranges from CZK 300m to 1.750bn, and thousands of people may have been harmed.
Legal experts say the amnesty declaration might halt prosecution in a total of 150 criminal cases. It applies to cases that are older than eight years in which the defendants are not fugitives or facing more than 10 years in prison. The exact number of cases that will be impacted by the amnesty declaration will be released by mid-February.
