The Case of Uherské Hradiště

Kristina Vlachová's work is devoted primarily to Czech political prisoners. Since 1994, she has followed events surrounding the Uherské Hradiště case. From the 1950s to the end of the 1960s, political prisoners from the Moravian region were imprisoned and tortured in the local jail. A group of interrogators from Uherské Hradiště was one of the most brutal in the country. Numerous witness accounts indicate that physical and mental coercion was used, which even included torture using electric shocks. After decades of investigation, the only outcome is a pardon for the former secret police investigator Vladimír Zavadilík, who was the only one of the three main people accused to appear before the courts. The other two, Alois Grebeníček and Ludvík Hlavačka, never stood trial because of their poor health. In interviews with lawyers, former justice ministers and prisoners as well as participants in Mayday celebrations, the director looks at the reasons why the accused go unpunished and their guilt is not publicly acknowledged. "Today, it's not about putting these old men behind bars," says Vlasta Parkanová, former chzech minister of justice in the documentary. "It's about recognising their guilt".