Prague - Emil Kučera, who was sentenced to three years in prison by an Indian court for illegal bug collection, is back in the Czech Republic. He says he decided to escape because he did not trust the Indian justice.
"Since I felt that Darjeeling authorities are not able to guarantee my right for a fair trial, I decided to solve this complicated situation by leaving. I am now back on Czech soil," Kučera wrote in a statement.
Kučera and another Czech scientist, Petr Švácha, were arrested in June and charged with illegal collection of insects for commercial purposes in a national park in Darjeeling. The defendants argued that they had only collected bugs for scientific research and that they had avoided the national park.
In the trial, which some said was manipulated, the judges cleared Švácha, but handed a three-year jail term to Kučera.
Kučera apologizes to Czech authorities
Kučera wrote in his statement the long trial had exhausted him psychologically. "After Petr Švácha's departure I decided for this solution," he added.
Kučera concluded his statement by thanking all those who were interested in his case and apologizing to the Czech Foreign Ministry and the Czech embassy in India for potential diplomatic trouble his act may cause. "I hope you understand the reasons behind my decision," Kučera wrote.
Later, in an interview for public broadcaster Czech Television, Kučera described the details of his escape: He asked his girlfriend to send him his second passport and money. Then he left the country by crossing to Nepal.
The Czech Justice Ministry says that Kučera can be neither punished in the Czech Republic nor extradited back to India. "Since the sentence has not yet taken effect, they cannot ask for his extradition," said ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Kuncová.
The Czech Foreign Ministry does not expect that Kučera's escape will harm the relations between India and the Czech Republic in any way, according to ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalová. "The Czech Republic cannot be held responsible for a decision of a single person, who was under heavy psychological pressure," Opletalová added.
On Saturday, the Czech embassy in India received an e-mail apology from Kučera. The diplomats have not been able to contact him back.
