Petr Donatek, a 46-year-old Czech man alleged to have hired two martial artists to attack Thai political refugees in Paris in 2019, has been sentenced to 4 years in prison for complicity in aggravated violence. 

Petr Donatek

Donatek was intially convicted in absentia of hiring two Czecn henchmen, Jakub Hosek and Daniel Vokal, to attack Thai political refugees Aum Neko (Sarun Chuichai) and Jom Faiyen (Nithiwat Wannasiri) in Paris on 17 November 2019. 

Hosek and Vokal were arrested, found guilty and sentenced to 26 months in jail on 23 November 2021, and have already been released. Donatek, meanwhile, was sentenced in absentia to 30 months in jail. 

During his February trial, Donatek denied involvement in the attack and appealed the verdict. Although he admitted that he travelled together with Hosek and Vokal, he claimed he went back to his hotel before the assault took place, and although he was seen taking pictures in video footage which includes the first few seconds of the attack, he claimed he was taking a selfe and pictures of lamp posts in the street and was not recording the attack. His lawyer also said that he might be framed, or that Hosek named him to get a shorter jail time.

The public prosecutor, meanwhile, said during the trial that there is evidence that the attack was planned, including that Donatek sent pictures of the victims to his two accomplices, who were asked to monitor them and wait until night to attack them. The prosecutor also requested that he is given 5 years in jail.

The trial was also postponed twice due to difficulties in securing an interpreter.

Aum Neko at the Paris Court on 2 March (Photo by Martin Balucha)

Yesterday (2 March), the court in Paris sentenced him to 4 years in prison, a higher sentence than what he was given during the first trial. 

In addition to his prison sentence, Donatek also has to pay 1000€ to Aum Neko and is also permanently forbidden from coming back to France.