The Lusaka High Court has discontinued the matter in which three Czech Republic nationals were arrested for espionage in October last year.
Michael Vebr, 45 a welder, Jiri Cetel, 45 a technician and Jan Coufal, 36 a carpenter are charged with espionage contrary to Section 3 (b) of the State Security Act Chapter 111 of the Laws of Zambia.
High Court judge Annie Sitali discontinued the matter yesterday after State advocate Chipola Bako entered a nolle prosequi when the matter came up for return of bench of warrant against the three Czech Republic nationals.
“After the State entered a nolle prosequi in this matter, these proceedings are accordingly discontinued,” Mrs Justice Sitali said.
In an application to discontinue the matter, Mr Bako said he had received instructions to drop the case.
“My instructions in the proceedings against the three accused persons are to discontinue the matter by way of a nolle prosequi,” he said.
Particulars of the offence are that the three, jointly and whilst acting together made sketches of the Zambia Army Arakan Barracks and Zambia Air Force headquarters City Airport Air Base entrances and the Zambia Army Battle Training Area at Mikango Barracks, which are protected areas, things which might be intended to be directly or indirectly useful to a foreign power or disaffected person.
The offence is alleged to have been committed between October 6 and October 12 in Lusaka last year.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
This is ridiculous.The State is always entring Nolle prosequi….Whats wrong with our prosecutors or did Sata issue instructions to withdraw the case.We as zambians need an explanation as to why spies are let to go scot free.Don’t give us lawyer gibberish..soon drug trafickers will also get nolle prosequi
Perhaps it was diplomatically resolved :) The inner sanctums remain a mystery… Hmm intriguing.
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Maybe Zambia finally realized that they are making fool of themself by arresting a welder for taking a picture of a rusty plane and calling him spy, LOL.
But y maps of millitary areas only?evn a hair dresser can be a spy!
They ran away to Czech, so nobody to prosecute. Why waste time…
Dear Zambia:
May I please suggest you post signs warning tourists not to take pictures of such sensitive things as Army base entrances and so forth?
May I also suggest that you not place such things as rusty planes with Zambian markings so easily within tourists’ eyesight if you do not want them photographed? Do not feed the pigeons should be a motto for us all. Pigeons, like tourists, cannot resist the easily obtainable. Thanks.