Analysis

Transparency International to sue Czech PM for libel

International corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) will sue the Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiš, over his failure to apologise for defamatory comments made about the organisation.

Since TI brought to the EU’s attention a possible conflict of interest involving Mr Babiš and EU funds, the Czech PM has repeatedly described the NGO as corrupt.

In June, legal representatives of the organisation threatened to sue Mr Babiš unless issued an apology for his “false accusations” which the organisation claims to be “deeply offensive and damaging to the reputation of Transparency International.”

“Andrej Babiš did not comply with the pre-action notice,” explained TI fundraising and communication manager David Kotora. “We sent two notices, one to the PM’s office and one to Andrej Babiš as an individual. We received an answer from his lawyer saying he would not meet it.”