Žít Brno politician ‘not guilty’ of slandering President Zeman with claim of terminal cancer

A politician from the group Žít Brno did not commit a crime when he claimed in a Facebook post this November that the Czech President has terminal cancer, the state prosecutor has ruled.

Brno councillor Svatopluk Bartík had been under police investigation for possibly slandering President Miloš Zeman when he said the head of state suffered from cancer and had only a few months to live.

The president’s doctors denied the claim, and the Office of the President filed a criminal complaint against Mr Bartík, along with a demand for a public apology and 5 million crowns in compensation.

Prague Castle cannot appeal the decision on slander but will proceed with civil proceedings, the president's spokesman, Jiří Ovčáček, said in a tweet on Monday.