Pensioner sentenced after walking stick attack on Babis

Incident during the election campaign

Pensioner sentenced after walking stick attack on Babis

A 65-year-old attacked the current Czech head of government and billionaire Andrej Babis during the election campaign – out of anger over alleged lies. A judge now spoke to his conscience.

A pensioner in the Czech Republic has been sentenced to a suspended sentence for attacking the current Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis with a walking stick. This was reported by the CTK agency. The incident occurred in September at a campaign event shortly before the parliamentary election, from which Babis emerged as the winner. The district court in Frydek-Mistek imposed a one-year prison sentence for attempted bodily harm, which was suspended.

The 65-year-old defendant testified that he had acted emotionally and accused Babis of lying: “My vision went black, because you shouldn’t lie, especially not in public.” The judge spoke to his conscience: It was unacceptable to resolve political conflicts with sticks or other forms of violence. The convicted person must pay a fine of 3,000 crowns, the equivalent of around 125 euros. The public prosecutor’s office demanded a higher sentence and appealed.

The 71-year-old Babis took several days of rest after the incident on the advice of his doctors, but did not suffer any permanent damage. His right-wing populist party ANO became the strongest force in the parliamentary election and has been in power for a month together with two far-right parties. Political scientists have long been talking about increasing polarization of the public in the Czech Republic. Babis is not without controversy. Critics accuse the billionaire of not always clearly separating business and politics. The public prosecutor’s office has requested that his immunity be lifted because of alleged subsidy fraud.