Czech court punished a man who fought against Ukraine.

In the Czech Republic, Czech citizen Alois Polak was sentenced to 21 years in prison for his participation in the war in Donbas on the side of the Russian occupiers. This was reported by Radio Prague International.

Commenting on this decision, court spokeswoman Gabriela Tomičková noted that the Supreme Court adopted it without conducting a public hearing.

The 52-year-old Polak was convicted in absentia, his absence explained by the fact that he might already be dead. According to the investigation, he killed at least four Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers from 2016 to 2020.

«Undoubtedly, the defendant participated in combat actions», - said the head of the appellate panel Jan Kadlec, commenting on this sentence in January of this year.

The Polak case was heard in the municipal court of Prague three times after an appeal was filed. Initially, the prosecutor requested 24 years imprisonment for the guilty.

In December 2016, Polak left the Czech Republic for Donbas, where he participated in battles against Ukrainian military on the side of the «DPR». Initially, he was a sniper, later becoming a platoon commander of the republican guard.

If Polak returns to the Czech Republic, he will be able to demand a new hearing of his case, which cannot lead to a harsher sentence than the previous one. The previously imposed sentence will be automatically annulled.

This is not the first case where courts in the Czech Republic pass guilty verdicts to participants of the war in Donbas against the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Several such verdicts were issued in absentia.

In addition to Polak, at least six other people have been convicted in the Czech Republic for participating in battles in eastern Ukraine on the side of pro-Russian forces.

Research by CEDMO (Central European Digital Media Observatory) showed that only a third of Czech residents are willing to take up arms and defend their country. At the same Time, 43% of Czechs support Ukraine in the war, while 22% believe the EU should pressure Ukraine to start negotiations.