A court in Czechia on Aug. 6 sentenced Czech ex-soldier Filip Siman to seven years in prison for looting while serving in Ukraine as a volunteer fighter, CTK news agency reported. He can appeal the verdict.
Siman was also accused of illegal service in foreign armed forces, for which he did not receive permission from the Czech president. The court acquitted him of this charge, as Prime Minister Petr Fiala said earlier that there would be no punishment for Czech volunteers in Ukraine.
The prosecution immediately appealed the verdict because, among other things, the court chose a sentence below the lower limit of the statutory rate. Now, the case will be reviewed by the Supreme Court in Prague. Siman denies the allegations and claims that he only obeyed the orders of his superiors.
In March 2022, Siman fought in the Ukrainian volunteer battalion Carpathian Sich despite not having permission from the country's president. He received basic training and weapons in Ukraine.
Together with his paratrooper group, Siman was supposed to patrol the trenches in Irpyn and Bucha in Kyiv Oblast and conduct "cleansing operations," reports Hromadske.
According to the indictment against him, Siman appropriated the belongings of deceased soldiers and civilians. Among the things he reportedly took possession of are a gold ring, gold and silver bars, other jewelry, cash, an e-book reader, Gucci sunglasses, and a breathing mask from an airplane.
The ex-soldier said in his defense that his unit was based in the abandoned houses of Ukrainian residents, so it was "common for the fighters to use their things."
Siman was detained by the Ukrainian military in April 2022 but later released and returned to Czechia.
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
