Updated 02/11/23 at 3:03 p.m
This is a first for such a Czech politician. Dominik Feri, a 27-year-old former center-right MP, was just this Thursday sentenced to three years in prison for rape and attempted rape. He was elected in 2017 at the age of 21 and was the youngest Czech parliamentarian at the time.
As a rising star and “young” supporter of the more conservative TOP09 party, he was popular with young voters for his Afro look and his piano and accordion playing. The young MP resigned from parliament in May 2021 after a police investigation was launched into the crimes he was accused of. The Dominik Feri affair subsequently caused a stir, reports Radio Prague International. He did not run again in the parliamentary elections that took place a few months later, in October 2021.
Convicted in three separate cases
The elected official was convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl and another woman in 2016, a year before his election. He was also found guilty by a Prague court of attempted rape of a young woman applying for an internship, an incident that occurred when he was already an MP, in 2018. This is the first time in the Czech Republic Republic that a political leader of this importance is convicted of a crime of a sexual nature.
The MP also has to pay a fine of 500,000 Czech crowns (around 20,400 euros). Dominik Feri maintained his innocence throughout the nine-month trial. He maintains this position even after the verdict was announced and has already indicated his intention to appeal, Czech public television reported.