Czech FM: 20-year sentence for Czech in Sudan groundless
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The Czech Foreign Ministry has rejected as groundless a Sudanese court's ruling that sentenced a Czech national to 20 years in prison.
The ministry said Petr Jasek was given the stiff prison term on Sunday by a court in Khartoum, where he was tried on charges that included espionage.
The ministry says a deputy foreign minister will travel to Sudan in the coming days to try to negotiate Jasek's release and if necessary, Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek is ready go there, too.
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Czech officials say Jasek was in Sudan to help local Christians and was arrested in December 2015.
In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said Jasek is in relatively good condition, but that there was no evidence to support his conviction or sentence.