Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš apologized to investigative journalist Pavla Holcová for falsely claiming that she was paid to undermine his pre-election campaign.
Uiwqc, Wikimedia, License)He posted his apology on Facebook on Tuesday after the Regional Court in Prague, Czech Republic, ordered him to do so and keep the post up at least for seven days.
Holcová is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Czech independent media outlet Investigace.cz and the Central Europe editor with OCCRP.
In her contribution to the Pandora Papers project — an international journalism investigation — she unveiled Babiš' undisclosed purchase of real estate in France through offshore companies, which he should have reported according to the law.
The investigation also described how Babiš invested almost CZK 400,000,000 (US$ 18,144,712.00) of unknown origin through companies in the British Virgin Islands, Washington, and Monaco.
This was never denied by Andrej Babiš, and currently, he is under investigation by French prosecutors.
Possibly in response to Holcová's revelation, in April 2022, then-Prime Minister Andrej Babiš shared a collage on his Facebook page featuring a photograph of her along with a comment alleging that she had been hired by billionaire and philanthropist George Soros to undermine his candidacy a week before the elections.
The Czech court has ordered Babiš to publish the apology on his Facebook page within three days of the ruling taking effect.
"I apologize to Mrs....
As he said he would on Sunday morning, FBI Director Kash Patel filed a defamation case against The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick this morning over a story that characterizes him as an inc...
