Prime Minister Petr Nečas (ODS) told a news conference on Wednesday he had ousted Justice Minister Jiří Pospíšil he had lost confidence in his fellow party member’s ability to manage his ministry and its finances, over a request for an extra Kč 1 billion for the Prison Service at a time of belt-tightening. But sources say it was Pospíšil’s shake-up of the judiciary system and failure to quickly appoint a top prosecutor to Nečas’ liking that led to his sacking.

Former head of the Czech anti-corruption police (ÚOKFK), Petr Vincenz, was in at the start of the long investigation that this week culminated  by reeling in top Social Democrat (ČSSD) politician David Rath and seven other suspects in what appears to be a high-profile graft case. Now out of the force, he talks about the preconditions that helped pave the way for such an outcome and his fears and foreboding for how the special police squad that piloted the probe might end up.

Roman Janoušek — known as the “godfather” of the ODS in Prague for his influence at City Hall — is alleged to have intentionally run down the driver of a vehicle he smashed into on Friday. She had caught up with him up on foot while he was at a red light and tried to stop him from fleeing the scene. Apprehended later by the police, Janoušek appears to have treated gotten exceptional treatment. Former elite detective Zdeněk Ondráček outlines the charges he faces.

A special Czech police anti-corruption unit has filed charges against 17 members of the Social Democrats’ (ČSSD) Prague chapters for allegedly giving or receiving bribes, mainly in connection with preparing the center-left party’s list of candidates in parliamentary elections, Czech public television (ČT) and the daily Lidové noviny report. The Prague 9 district is at the center of the graft probe.