Babiš accuses judges of handing down "made-to-order" verdicts, calls his own case a political trial

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš used a Sunday video message to accuse some judges of bias, claiming that in this country, people can end up under arrest "to order." His remarks were a response to criticism from the Union of Judges, which had objected to his earlier comments questioning the independence of the judiciary.

"If anyone from the Union of Judges has a problem with me, come and see me — I'll be happy to receive you at the Government Office. My lawyer can explain what the 'Stork's Nest' case really is. It's a political trial," Babiš said.

The "Stork's Nest" case

As a reminder, last week Prague's High Court upheld a three-year suspended sentence and a fine for Babiš's co-defendant, MEP Jana Nagyová (ANO), for subsidy fraud and causing damage to the EU's financial interests. Criminal proceedings against Babiš himself remain suspended due to his parliamentary immunity.

Already on Friday, responding to the Union of Judges' statement, Babiš had suggested its authors "study the case file."

Criticism of the judiciary

In his Sunday video, the prime minister also said the public is outraged by lenient sentences handed down for animal cruelty and sexual offenses. "If anyone is undermining trust in the justice system, it's not politicians who criticize court rulings — it's the judges themselves, who, for example, hand out suspended sentences for serious cases of rape or child sexual abuse," Babiš said.

He also pointed out that the state has paid out 400 million crowns in compensation to people who were wrongfully convicted.

The dispute over his remarks in Havířov

The Union of Judges' outrage was triggered by comments Babiš made at a campaign rally in Havířov, where he explained why he had changed his position on parliamentary immunity. He had previously argued that immunity should only cover statements made within parliament itself.

"We certainly have an independent judiciary, but there are also judges who make rulings without evidence," Babiš said at the rally. He served as deputy prime minister for three years starting in 2014 and led the government from 2017 to 2021. He added that "the judge in the 'Stork's Nest' case ruled like a prosecutor, like in the old days."

Babiš, in his Sunday address, dismissed the report that drew attention to these video-recorded remarks as false, without offering any evidence to support that claim.

Source: novinky.cz