Brno - The Czech Constitutional Court will be dealing with the alleged attempts of a police team codenamed Majetek (Property, in Czech) to block restitutions of property once confiscated from Czech aristocracy.
Mr Jaroslav Čapek, representing one of the most prominent aristocratic families in the Czech Republic, lodged a formal complaint against the action by both the police and judiciary under the previous government lead by the Czech Social Democratic Party.
In 2004, the phones of both the descendant of the family, František Oldřich Kinský (also known as Franz-Ulrich), applying for restitution of the family property worth of billions, and his lawyer, Mr Čapek, were wiretapped by the police with both the Public Prosecutor and the Court's consent.
Suppressing evidence
The police used a strange legal loophole to get the warrant to tap the phones. They accused Mr Čapek of suppressing vital evidence and only applying the evidence advantageous to Mr Kinský's case, accusing him in fact of nothing more than using standard procedure of any defence lawyer with interest of his client at heart.
From the list of phone calls, the police was able to establish the fact that the lawyer was calling, among others, several journalists working for the Czech Press Agency (ČTK) and prominent activist John Bok who chairs the Šalamoun Association for independent judiciary in the Czech Republic.
Two years later, the proceedings against Mr Čapek were stopped. Mr Kinský's lawyer now wants the Constitutional Court to review actions by the police, the Prague East District Court and the General Public Prosecutor's Office in Prague. Mr Čapek also demands that the wiretapping logs be destroyed.
The Constitutional Court lawyers have been reviewing the case and will publish their ruling in a fortnight's time.
The Czech Bar Association had also lodged a protest against Mr Čapek's wiretapping.
Sordid practice
"The Czech Bar Association protests vehemently both against this kind of police practices and against the courts authorizing them with complete indulgence. At the same time, they are used mainly in the cases where the prosecution is in the end either postponed or discontinued," the statement by the lawyers' organization said.
In 2004, the nationwide activities of the police team "Majetek" started based on a directive by the deputy police president Jaroslav Macháně.
Its task was to check on and screen the restitution claims by Czech nobility. The then Interior Minister Stanislav Gross was also informed of the team's work.
The Lidové Noviny daily even claims the police involved Czech special services in their investigation.
Czech agents searching archives in Germany and Austria allegedly found documents proving the aristocrats were not born as Czech citizens.
No restitution of property
In the end, the agents failed to acquire the documents on either Count František Oldřich Kinský or Prince Josef Colloredo-Mansfeld.
Mr Kinský lodged 157 lawsuits with different courts involving property worth 40 billion Czech Crowns. His parents lost the property after the Second World War after being accused of collaborating with the Nazis.
The Colloredo-Mansfelds are trying to get back the family property for over ten years. Last Spring, they had to return to the state the Opočno Castle they previously obtained by restitution.
