Plzeň prison guard gets third suspended sentence for beating inmate

A court has found a prison guard guilty for the third time of causing grievous bodily harm and abuse of power as a public official. For beating an inmate who had to have his spleen removed because of his injuries, he received a three-year suspended sentence. The verdict has once again not come into force: the defendant has appealed again, and the Regional Court in Plzeň will review the case once more.

What happened in the cell

The incident took place five years ago during a search of the cell of convict Marius Hudý (55): a prison doctor had found traces of banned opiates in his urine. According to prosecutor Roman Šustáček, the guard first punched the inmate twice in the left eye, then hit him at least four times in the ribs. The result was three broken ribs and a ruptured spleen: the victim underwent emergency surgery the same day, during which doctors had to remove the organ.

The guard, surnamed Karfiol, who spent several years in competitive weightlifting and regularly received commendations for exemplary service, denies any physical contact with the inmate. Hudý, however, confirmed in court that he was punched several times. According to him, the guard promised to beat out of him how he had got hold of the drugs.

Why the court believed the inmate

The Regional Court in Plzeň twice overturned guilty verdicts, demanding a more thorough justification of guilt, above all regarding the credibility of the victim’s testimony. “I have reached the same conclusion as in the earlier decisions,” said Judge Emil Pešina. He took into account the inmate’s criminal record, which may reduce the general credibility of his words, but reminded the court that even an unreliable witness can tell the truth. In the judge’s words, Hudý described what happened spontaneously and convincingly.

The victim’s account is also supported by other evidence, above all an expert opinion on how his injuries were caused. The judge was not swayed by the testimony of the other guards who took part in the search: they claimed there were no excesses. He called that testimony biased — in his view, it gives an alibi not only to the defendant but to the guards themselves: by admitting they had seen the attack and not intervened, they would effectively have become accomplices.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz