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Police did not impose an information embargo on the cause of Bečva river poisoning, an expert opinion is awaited | Home

Zlín Police did not impose an information embargo on the cause of the September poisoning of the Bečva river. This was stated by the spokesperson of the police presidium, Kateřina Rendlová. However, according to her, the police cannot publish information from the investigation and refute or confirm public statements of others. On Monday, the Czech branch of Transparency International called on those who might have information about river poisoning to contact it.

On September 20, a hitherto unknown perpetrator released cyanide into the river, and the accident affected Bečva under Valašské Meziříčí after Přerov. Fishermen took over 40 tons of fish to the rendering plant. The disaster has aroused public interest, and as time goes on, speculation emerges as to why, even after two months, it is not clear who released cyanide into the river. Last week, MEPs discussed the case. Opposition lawmakers have pointed out that the case still raises many questions, but the debate has not led to any conclusion.

However, according to her, it is not in the interest of the police for the state administration body investigating the ecological accident not to provide any information in the matter. “The Police of the Czech Republic cannot interfere in the competence of a state administration body, in this case the Czech Environmental Inspectorate (CEI), and restrict it in its activities, including informing the public. The criminal proceedings are conducted on their own line, about which the non-interested parties have no information, ie they cannot even divulge them, and thus endanger further police activities, “the spokeswoman added.” Within our own competence and in agreement with the supervising public prosecutor , of course, with regard to the possibilities imposed on us by the Criminal Procedure Code. No criminal proceedings can take place ‘live’ in the media, and however we perceive all the related circumstances, we must not succumb to the pressure to disclose information from police investigations, nor can we refute or confirm public statements from others, “said Rendlová.

The Ministry of the Environment subsequently stated that the investigator called on both the Ministry and the CEI not to publish new information on criminal proceedings. “Whether information that could be related to criminal proceedings or lead to the initiation of criminal proceedings. This, of course, concerns the steps of the inspection, or other bodies that operated at the scene of the accident and within the investigation came to certain findings, which subsequently led to the initiation of criminal proceedings in the Bečva accident, “said Petra Roubíčková, spokeswoman for the ministry.

On Monday, Transparency International called on potential whistleblowers to report cyanide leaks. “If you have relevant information that may lead to the detection of the perpetrator, but you are concerned about legal or media retaliation, please contact us via our online secure form here on our website: www.transparency.cz/chci-nahlasit- corruption /, “said the organization. It promised the whistleblowers to protect their identity, legal service and mediation with the police and nature conservation authorities.

The police are also criticized that the culprit of Bečva poisoning is not yet known. “Police investigations are now entirely dependent on the results of expert examinations. The deadline for drawing up the expert report was set at three months, taking into account the amount of material examined, and will expire on 20 December 2020. For objective reasons, this deadline may be extended. Until the results of the expert investigation are known to the police, no major shift in the matter can be expected, “said the spokeswoman.

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