This is a first for such a Czech politician. Dominik Feri, a 27-year-old former center-right MP, was just sentenced this Thursday to three years in prison for rape and attempted rape. Elected at the age of 21 in 2017, he was then the youngest Czech parliamentarian.
A rising star and “young” endorsement of the rather conservative TOP09 party, he was popular with young voters for his afro and his practice of the piano and accordion. The young MP resigned from Parliament in May 2021, after the opening of a police investigation into the facts with which he was accused. The Dominik Feri affair was subsequently highly publicized, says Radio Prague International. He then did not run again in the legislative elections organized a few months later, in October 2021.
Convicted in three separate cases
The elected official was convicted of the rape of 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 who was applying for an internship, events which occurred when he was already a deputy, in 2018. This is the first time in the Czech Republic that a political leader of this importance is convicted of a crime of a sexual nature.
The MP will also have to pay a financial penalty of 500,000 Czech crowns (around 20,400 euros). Dominik Feri proclaimed his innocence throughout the nine months of his trial. He maintains this position after the announcement of the verdict, and has already indicated his intention to appeal, Czech public television reported.