Court upholds suspended sentence for former MEP Železný

A court in Prague on Monday upheld a two-year suspended sentence for former MEP Vladimír Želený for failing to pay customs duty on imported paintings. Mr Železný, a former TV tycoon and a founder of the commercial TV station Nova, had several paintings brought from the UK to the Czech Republic in 1998 but paid no customs. In 2005, while serving as MEP, the European Parliament stripped him of his immunity so that an investigation could be launched. Mr Železný is also being investigated for allegedly damaging creditors in connection with his 1999 takeover of TV Nova.