The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic confirmed the fines of a firefighter and an official convicted over failings during the 2020 accident on the river Bečva. It rejected their appeals on points of law in a closed session. The Czech News Agency found the decision in the judicial database and published it on 2 November 2026; the court's spokeswoman said that the full reasoning was not yet available. Both convicted can still turn to the Constitutional Court with a complaint [1][2].
Content of the verdict
According to the final verdict, the firefighter breached his duties when directing rescue work; he directed them on 20 September 2020 in Choryně in the Vsetín area and its surroundings, where anglers observed the first dead fish in the river. According to the same decision, the official bears responsibility for an unlawful administrative decision on the lagoons of the company Energoaqua: as a clerk of the department of the environment and construction in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm she allowed the company in 2018 to collect surface water in the lagoons instead of purified water from the treatment plant. The lagoons, which were the last safeguard, thus could not stop a possible escape of insufficiently treated wastewater into the river [1][2].
Both received fines for obstructing the task of an official person. The appellate Krajský soud v Olomouci reduced the official's fine from 60,000 to 40,000 koruna because of a change in the legal classification, and confirmed the firefighter's 30,000 koruna [1][2].
Position of the company Energoaqua
According to another final decision of the court in Vsetín, the company Energoaqua from Rožnov caused the poisoning of the Bečva but was not punished: the court did not identify the specific culprit of the accident, and a legal entity is therefore not criminally liable for it. The company denied guilt. The Czech Environmental Inspectorate imposed a fine of five million koruna on it for discharging wastewater contrary to its permit, and the Ministry of the Environment confirmed it [1][2].
Extent of the accident
The river on the border of the Zlín Region and the Olomouc Region was contaminated with cyanide. It affected about 40 kilometres of the river and poisoned more than 40 tonnes of fish [1][2].
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 2 November 2026
- Lidovky.cz — 2 November 2026