In an interview with Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD), President Miloš Zeman defended former TOP 09 member Dominik Feri, whom several women in the media accused of sexual harassment and violence. Zeman said he had a similar view of the case as his former presidential candidate, Karel Schwarzenberg. The honorary chairman of TOP 09 said that it is normal for a boy to get a girl into bed. Feri’s case is being investigated by the police.
“I say that I do not deal with nonsense. I may surprise you, but I also consider this nonsense. Although I have differed many views with Karl Schwarzenberg, I must admit that my attitude to this alleged sex scandal is very close to that of Karel Schwarzenberg, “Zeman told the newspaper.
Schwarzenberg had previously stated in an interview for the iDNES.cz server that he had never heard of Feri’s allegedly inappropriate behavior. “And what is sexual harassment? That a 25-year-old boy is trying to get a girl to bed and vice versa has always been considered normal. So please don’t be hypocrites,” he added.
At the end of May, the N daily and the Alarm server published testimonies from several women who claim that Feri had sex with them despite their disapproval, that he tried to lure nude photos of them or publicly dishonor them. The politician refused to commit sexual violence, but apologized for “inappropriate” or “inappropriate” behavior in some situations.
Feri subsequently announced his resignation from office and his non-participation in the parliamentary elections. He also resigned from the TOP 09. Feri stated that he had resigned as a member of parliament because he did not want false and manipulative articles in the media to harm his immediate surroundings and colleagues. He will defend himself against them in court.
“Criminal investigators have started to investigate the case and have initiated criminal proceedings on suspicion of committing one of the crimes against human dignity in the sexual field. at the beginning of June, Jan Daněk, a spokesman for the Prague police. No one has been charged in the case yet. Police also called on potential victims to contact them.