Czechs accused of espionage in Zambia

Three Czech men face up to 30 years in prison after being accused of espionage in the southern African country of Zambia, sparking a sharp rebuke from Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09).

"Zambia has no government," Schwarzenberg said. "A battle between the secret services rages there. In such situations, it is always welcome [for warring factions] to uncover an external enemy."

The Zambia Daily Mail writes that the trio faces "a charge of espionage after being arrested for taking pictures of entrances to Arrakan Barracks, Zambia Air Force (ZAF) airbase and Mikango Barracks."

Other reports have said the men also photographed the entrance to the presidential palace in the capital of Lusaka. They were reportedly arrested Oct. 12.

The Zambia Daily Mail identifies the three men as "Michal Vebr, 45, a welder, Jiri Cetel, 45, a technician, and Jan Coufal, 36, a carpenter."

The trio worked for the Netherlands-based exhibition company A&A Expo and stopped in Zambia after doing business in Johannesburg, South Africa, according to Reuters.

"The three were arrested and charged with espionage, but at this stage we would rather have the matter dealt with by our Foreign Affairs Ministry," Zambian Home Affairs Secretary Kennedy Sakeni told the news wire. "We have written to [the Czechs] and asked them to get in touch with our Foreign Affairs Ministry."  

The Czech Republic has no embassy in Zambia, which is serviced by the embassy in Zimbabwe. Luděk Zahradníček, the chargé d'affaires to Zimbabwe, is now in Lusaka, according to a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman. The three men have been released on bail of $2,000 but had to turn over their passports and are now residing at the home of the Czech consul.

"We are trying to get them out of it," Schwarzenberg said. "But the local [intelligence] services are not willing."

Zambia is Africa's largest copper producer and home to the famed Victoria Falls. It was colonized and ruled by the United Kingdom until 1964 as Northern Rhodesia. Kenneth Kaunda led the country for its first three decades of independence. In the 1990s, privatization of the mining sector and multiparty elections saw the country's prospects improve.

Zambia has a reputation for relatively stable government, but poverty is widespread, as is HIV/AIDS, with some 13.5 percent of the adult population affected, according the CIA World Factbook.

The Zambia Daily Mail said the Czechs are accused of photographing "things which might be intended to be directly or indirectly useful to a foreign power or disaffected person."

Benjamin Cunningham can be reached at
bcunningham@praguepost.com