Fugitive convict Roztocil to be granted new trial

The Regional Court in Prague has decided to reopen the case of the fugitive convict Rostislav Roztocil, who was sentenced in 1985 to 24 years in prison for murder. Mr Roztocil, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced in absentia after emigrating to the West in the 1980s. He was detained in 2000 at a border crossing while trying to enter the Czech Republic. Last year he escaped from prison and was detained in Germany. German courts ruled that Mr Roztocil could be extradited to the Czech Republic on condition he would be granted a new trial.