Prague - Mr. Miroslav spent only four months in prison in 2003. But he will bear the consequences of the short-term jail for the rest of his life.
His serious injuries he sustained when working in the prison premises in Stráž pod Ralskem left him badly handicapped.
Prague District Court ruled on Wednesday that compensation of 300,000 CZK is required for the prison work-related injury. The Czech State Prison Service has already paid Mr. Miroslav compensation worth 30,000 CZK.
"The Prison Service is an employer like any other in the country. We are responsible for the prisoners' work safety," says Lenka Jahelková of the Prison Service's legal department.
Annually, around 500-600 prisoners are injured during work. In most cases compensation was agreed on between the two parties. Taking legal action is very rare, she adds.
Working prisoners
Czech lawmakers have been pushing for employing convicts for years. The last to raise this issue was Justice Minister Daniela Kovářová. At the moment it is a total of 56 percent of prisoners that are employed.
The Stráž pod Ralskem jail employs more convicts than any other prison in the country.
"At the moment about 80 percent of (Stráž) prisoners work. The capacity of the jail is exceeded by 32 percent, though," says the prison spokesperson Martina Mazalová.
According to her, most prisoners who desire to work during their jail term dream of being jailed in Stráž, since they can earn a bit of money.
"There are about 500 applications for relocation to Stráž but we cannot process all of them," she adds.
