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ČR a step closer to nabbing fugitive

Treaty with Seychelles could enable Krejčíř to be extradited home

By Hilda Hoy
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
February 28th, 2007 issue

A newly signed draft treaty between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Seychelles could give the Czech government the legal muscle it needs to finally extradite fugitive and alleged mob boss Radovan Krejčíř home for trial, the Justice Ministry says.

A delegation of Czech officials returned home Feb. 26 after a trip to the tiny island nation off the east coast of Africa, where they were successful in drafting an extradition treaty between the two countries, Justice Minister Jiří Pospíšil announced Feb. 23.
Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Kuncová confirmed the trip was a joint effort between the foreign affairs and justice ministries, but refused to provide the total number of participants, their names or ranks.
Media reports have said the delegation included officials from the Justice Ministry, the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the office of the Prague state attorney.   
“The fact that this draft was signed is a result of diplomatic negotiations which have lasted several months. It is also a result of several days of hard, demanding work by experts from both countries,” said Kuncová.
If all goes well, the treaty could be ratified and come into effect in about six months, Pospíšil told the Czech News Agency Feb. 23.
On the lam
Krejčíř fled his native Czech Republic in 2005 after giving police the slip while they searched his Prague home, much to the delight of the tabloids and the embarrassment of law enforcement. Krejčíř later told the media that then state attorney Jaroslav Dolejší had aided in his escape by providing him with a passport. An investigation into the bungled police operation was shelved in February 2006 with no charges filed.
Krejčíř is accused of various crimes, including defrauding the government of nearly 3 billion Kč in customs fees and plotting the murder of a customs officer.
Efforts to bring him to justice have been thwarted by Krejčíř’s Seychelles citizenship, which he is said to have bought in 1996.
“It is not relevant from the point of view of extradition whether the person who is to be extradited has citizenship of the Czech Republic and the Republic of Seychelles,” Pospíšil said.
Krejčíř made his way to the resort islands in 2006, where he has lived since with his wife and son.
If ratified, the bilateral treaty would be the first of its kind for the Seychelles, Kuncová said.
However, it wouldn’t mean Krejčíř’s extradition is in the bag.
“The draft contains … the right to refuse the extradition, which will also become a part of this treaty. It’s a right of any sovereign country,” Kuncová said.
A tangled web
Krejčíř is also entangled in another criminal investigation, this one involving the 2002 kidnapping and disappearance of his father, Lambert Krejčíř.
Jaroslav Starka, owner of the Gambrinus liga soccer club FK Marila Příbram, was arrested last November along with six of his colleagues and charged with the disappearance of the elder Krejčíř.
Police believe Starka helped organize the kidnapping as a means to blackmail Radovan Krejčíř over debt repayment, but that the victim accidentally died during kidnapping. No body has been recovered.
Starka was released from custody Feb. 6 after posting bail of 8 million Kč ($372,600).
State attorney Martin Omelka denies media reports that the Czech delegation to the Seychelles was interested in questioning Krejčíř as a witness in the Starka investigation.
But Kuncová says the topic may in fact have been broached during the recent trip. “It might have been a part of informal talks,” she said. “This case is still a matter of police investigation at the moment, so the Justice Ministry is not involved.”
Krejčíř isn’t the only fugitive frustrating Czech authorities by hiding in an idyllic island location.
Viktor Kožený, the so-called Pirate of Prague, is wanted in both the United States and the Czech Republic on charges of investment fraud and embezzlement. He settled in the Bahamas in the 1990s, and since 2005 has been in a Bahamian prison while both U.S. and Czech officials pursue his extradition.
Naďa Černá contributed to this report.

Hilda Hoy can be reached at hhoy@praguepost.com


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