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September 8th, 2008
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Court: Hoffman abused power

Communist-era official sentenced to four years for stopping broadcasts

By Kevin Livingston
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
(June 12, 2003)


The June 9 conviction of former Telecommunications Minister Karel Hoffman spawned mixed reactions from former political prisoners and the office in charge of investigating communist crimes.

Hoffman, 79, was sentenced by a Prague City Court to four years in prison on charges that he abused his authority during the 1968 Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion when he ordered Czechoslovak Radio off the air.

Hoffman is the third communist-era official to be convicted since the 1989 revolution that toppled the authoritarian regime.

Stanislav Stransky of the Association of Former Political Prisoners called the court's verdict a symbolic rebuke of the 41 years of communist rule in this country.

But the Office for the Documentation and Investigation of Communist Crimes (UDV) was baffled that Hoffman was convicted only of abuse of power and not the more serious crime of treason, as prosecutors had sought.

UDV Deputy Director Pavel Bret said there was ample evidence that Hoffman had colluded with a foreign country -- the Soviet Union -- when he refused to air the Czechoslovak government's denunciation of the invasion. Hoffman aired a statement from party officials who were collaborating with the invading troops.

The judge ruled that the evidence proved that Hoffman, as head of the central communications authority, had shut down the broadcasting stations. But the judge also ruled that prosecutors failed to prove that Hoffman had acted on the orders of a foreign power.

Hoffman, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, said he would appeal the decision to the Prague Supreme Court.

"The verdict does not represent reality, but I understand it because the political and media pressure is so strong," Hoffman told reporters after his conviction.

Hoffman's sentence was the minimum allowed by law. The court took into account his age and the fact that the crime was committed 35 years ago.

State prosecutors are likely to accept the verdict. Justice Minister Pavel Rychetsky will also review the case to see whether it falls under a 1993 amnesty law, which was introduced by former President Vaclav Havel and prohibits the prosecution of those over the age of 60.

-- With wire reports.

Kevin Livingston can be reached at klivingston@praguepost.com




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