PROSECUTION OF ALLEGED COAL-MINE SABOTEURS AT OSTRAVA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700080126-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 9, 2011
• Sequence Number: 126
• Publication Date: August 28, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000700080126-2
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REPORT ND.
PRO6ECIfiIOE ~ ALLBOED COAL-ND~& 3ABOl'SDiiB AT OSTRkgA
The foll:asring article rzporta ape of a series of trials of al-
lagad aatoteura in the important Ostrava-iCarvinnEt coal region, xhere
several accidents I.:nd disasters reparte3ly occ~?rsd tcaard the end
of ~~."~S1 nxfrl f:ho t,.;~l.,,,a.?....o once ms.. _.__i _'-`--~ -? --_-.~- _._
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sge anti of loss of life ass not~ennoanced~
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000700080126-2
On Thursday, l0 Jtrly 1952, the State Coact in Ostrava, Dr Jiri Repel?, pra-
aiding, t~ ied a group of nine persona accuae3 of sabotage in the coal industry,
The prasPCUtioa's case wss presented by the Deputy State Prosecutor, Emil Sich-
leF. IAmiag the first day of i:he hxaring, delegates Pram all coal regions o2
Czechoslovakia were preaa~, as were technicians, outatnnding eprA:ers, r'scipl-
enta of orders and decorations, and workers Pram enterprises in Ostrava $rg1,
0
The ucuasd sere Dr Sngr Vaclav Zal>:.i, onetime chairman of the Regional
Mining Office in rystrava; Engc Josef Herel, ?nspector in the Oairava-Xar~?einna
miIIiBa; Ragr ~.immat Psvlu, onetime chief engineer of the Donbrava mine (these
three nee8 to belong to Lapsman'a rightist group and were reared is the AErar-
1an Partv); Lvdvik Polak, onetime chairman of the Doubrava Misr Snterpriae
Council; Alois Carbol, chief of the ventilation service of the same mine;.anR
Josref Oolka, laboratory technician. The Barbora mina wss rapreaeated by the
dafendssnta A1^one Petras, mining eugiaea3r, Smerich Lazareky, technician, and
JozeY Stoazek, chief of the ve~ilation service-.
The groeacution maimed that this group had caused serious mining accidents
which oast lives surd millions aP croups' worth of damage through criminsJ. neg]1-
geenee. Doc~eateary as 'Dell ae Ryevltness teatiimop,~ was presented by the pro- ::
Isocurion. sue innictaanta, xilich scene read i.a the first day of the hearing, .
eiaq].ed out three of the 3efepdanta ae ~:.:he main cria3nals. These were,Bagi.neers
Zalud? Sorel, and Pavlu.
 Zalwi, as t:;e c'nairsu~n of +,he P.egioanl. boning pf,?ice, practice3 continsi.nq
eaZ?etage. p~ of his xost it~ortant taaY.s vas the su-rarvieion of safoty ~as-
aca in fife various mines under hi 1
d
e J
'
a
uz
iction. IIe consistently v-lolata3
saf@r,
onu ~ rng+tl.ations, held up the Plow of reports from enteriaiae administrations
gl'o.=3 to acs t;,at kaatrn dangers vats removed. In one instance, vnen hV
vasvel], acfar3 of the dangerous refute of world
or the ng conditions in the Hubert pit
canast].tat ai na trSt~h dp'feadenta E~?ele9anc11p~~ljesusy opc~xationa in this pit, sYCer
anon i3 ?~hi~ Cvngequptttly, tYera ti,-,a an explc-
ohnit on :L?e? February 1952, which coat the death of soro~ minors. A
part Of the mina COntainina 1_nrno ern,.+-f tt _~ ,.a ,.~.~-r
inoperaTa2a .or a considerable tine. v `r ??? uuw'.~.:suea ?Sa rendered
The accused, in hts cRpacity as chsizman oP the f:eglonal f2lning Office, con-
ducted au invostf.~tion of the causes of the explosion in such a way that those
~^ ~~e actually to bl.az^.e were not Iraniahed. Oth_r fibers of this gang o? sab-
oteura vera iierel, Psvln, Yolak, Carbol, and Gol.i~, who, wi$h the full fozcniledga
of lalnd, falsiPled books and entries reporting the existence of methsxye gs~ and,
thus clearly tried to .hide the e~ridence of their own guilt in the disaster.
Zalvd attempted to proceed is this tuanaer in other cases also. 8e ig re-
sponsible for canning the conditions in tfu; Aaryar-, mime vhich led to the de-
structire fixe there oa 17 1k;canber 1y51.' In.thin incident his main accompLces
vats Alfona Petras and.}3merich Lazarsky, uko here both crimin111Y ngl'gant i.n
earrying out them dca'stes en3 t;ore ~-:rv i:u?,:cp,;,; ible.
Ia one of the shafts of the Harbors mina thPxe vss a aonaldezable odor,
ahi.o2. is noticed ~ a nLe ~ma a firs is L%nninent. III order to avoid a pit
fire, Zalud decided that tae Particular section van to he va-li.ad ia, Although
he vas avers o? thrs danger, he felled to set s time limit for the e~cutiaa of
this eaYeYty ~aeure. lie tried to assure the lcuding vorkera of the mtne that
the deeper jras not acute. This is vhy the defendant Pe~?sa merely isaiutd the
C'rdElr far Che lmil~ of the stall and did not follow uu on itu nm~T~+~n? ,...
-~
31miLa:ly, StaszAk, i.he chi.e? of the ventilation service in the Harbors
mina, vas aegligeut *?hen he refused to teat the air in the danger area, and, after
the f~ had started, be criminally took his titffi in detecting the center of the
blaze. Stoazec failed to in.?orm the management o? the mice and the eo~cissioa
of the Mini-nK Of?iae o? the condition in the danger zone ?nd thus vas gailty of
cauair4 the b3sva to spreafl.ao that 9? gnt out o? control.
Following the reading of the .above indictt~nts, aevrral of the d?fendanta
tare esroea-axamdned by the prosecution. Othors c~117, pe iis~.d on Friday, 1]. July
152? ?hiring the araas~-emsirstion, the Lc??osecution vas successflil. in proving
same o? the finer paints o? the indict~enta, vhici: ahcil[1 lead to the definite
conviction of the defendants. Smme confessions vere obtained.
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000700080126-2