Špindlerův Mlýn, Czechia: posters against lobbyist Roman Janoušek

Unknown persons have plastered the ski resort of Špindlerův Mlýn with dozens of posters bearing a photo of lobbyist Roman Janoušek and insulting slogans. The posters had been up since Friday evening, and the person behind the action has not been found, the editorial team reports.

Once a respected figure among lobbyists and political entrepreneurs, Janoušek is going through a dark period. First it emerged that he and his partner Tomáš Pitr have unsettled financial debts to Balkan mafia boss Baskim Kjazimi, known as Bojan, and that Bojan's group is probably using Janoušek to advance its business interests. Then it turned out that he is not telling the authorities the whole truth about being seriously ill and therefore unable to complete his prison sentence: journalists showed that he actively does sports, cycling and skiing.

What the posters show

The posters show a real photo of Janoušek wearing a protective helmet, similar to the one footballer Petr Čech wore after his injury. Janoušek wore such a helmet in prison, where he served part of a sentence for hitting a woman with his car on the street while drunk. He and medical reports claimed that he had undergone serious head surgery and therefore could not complete his sentence.

In the picture, bent prison bars frame his face peering out, and beneath the portrait is the caption: “Roman Janoušek – thief, asset-stripper and Hollywood health actor”. The posters appeared on local map boards, at a bus stop, and on information boards of the municipality and local organizations. On one map, “asset-stripper Janoušek” appears next to Svatý Petr, a part of Špindlerův Mlýn. On an advertisement for a local guesthouse, a “jailed Janoušek” stands beside the words “zimmer frei”, a hint that there is still a free room in prison: there is a dispute over whether he should serve the rest of his sentence. Even the poster for walking routes around the town has been “decorated” with Janoušek, apparently a nod to his cycling and skiing.

Locals don’t like him

A local resident who was laughing at the posters alerted the editorial team to them. “Come and have a look. We have a new criminal celebrity on posters here,” he said. According to him, nobody in the village likes Janoušek: “He is flotsam that is spreading out here with his business partners and trying to privatize Špindl as a developer.”

He was referring to the influx of billionaires who for several years have been turning Špindlerův Mlýn into a kind of “Czech Aspen”. The Krkonoše resort of course does not match the scale of the American ski mecca in Colorado: the comparison points only to the luxurious atmosphere, the large number of hotels, visits by well-known personalities and higher prices.

Debts and enemies

It is unknown who is behind the posters. Janoušek has many ill-wishers, mainly because of business dealings. According to his associates, unfulfilled promises remain on his account, mostly regarding payments for joint business. The aforementioned Bojan also demanded tens of millions of crowns from him, and according to previously published information, a former high-ranking ODS politician also owes him money.

Janoušek does not communicate with the media and did not respond to questions.

Around Prague guide on the topic: 9 best cycling routes around Prague: from the Vltava embankments to Karlštejn Castle

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz