Czech President Petr Pavel has halted the prosecution of four Czech special forces soldiers accused in connection with the death of an Afghan prisoner of war, the Presidential Office wrote on social media yesterday.
Explaining the decision, the office wrote that Pavel had taken into account in particular the extraordinary conflict situation in which the incident had taken place, and the fact that the soldiers were not primarily accused of violent crimes.
“He also took into account the complex international context of the entire case and the length of the investigation so far, which has lasted almost seven years,” the office wrote, adding that Pavel’s decision was co-signed by the prime minister.
“The prime minister did not find any reason not to sign the president’s decision,” government spokeswoman Lucie Michut Jesatkova told CTK.
In 2018, a member of the Afghan armed forces, Vahidullah Khan, shot and killed Czech dog handler Tomas Prochazka and wounded two soldiers at a base in Shindand in Herat province. The Afghan soldier was arrested and taken into custody by Western forces. Shortly after being returned to Afghan forces, the man died. The detained Afghan soldier was also questioned by four members of the 601st Special Forces Group.
In April, the Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that it had filed charges against four members of the Czech Special Forces over the violent death of the Afghan prisoner. The media previously reported that the military police had accused two Czech soldiers of extortion and disobeying orders, and two of violating guard duty and failing to provide assistance.
The indictment was subsequently drawn up by prosecutor Robert Hanus. According to the Criminal Code, the violation of guard duty and disobeying orders can be punishable in extreme cases by exceptional penalties, including life imprisonment. This applies when the offences are committed in a combat situation and when other aggravating circumstances are met.
The office said Pavel had decided to meet the pardon requests filed on behalf of the soldiers. According to the server iROZHLAS.cz, the Presidential Office received two requests to halt the criminal prosecution almost three years ago from the Czech Legionaries Association and the General Moravec Special Forces Foundation.
In April, Pavel was urged to stop the prosecution of the soldiers by Petr Macinka, leader of the extra-parliamentary Motorists political party. Macinka said the soldiers had acted under extremely stressful combat conditions and a pardon would be a sign of understanding and respect for their service. ANO leader Andrej Babis later backed the call. The president said at the time that he wanted to know the answers to a number of questions before taking any action.
Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Vit Rakusan (STAN) told reporters after a cabinet meeting yesterday that he assumed the president had relevant reasons for the decision.
“This is a sovereign decision of the president which we all must respect,” Defence Minister Jana Cernochova (ODS) told CTK. Macinka told CTK that Pavel deserved applause and thanks for the decision.
