The Heritage Association must apologize to Karlovy Vary Mineral Waters

Prague - The Association of Organizations for the Protection and Development of Cultural Heritage (ASORKD) must apologize to the company Karlovarské minerální vody (KMV) and its director Alessandro Pasquale for statements damaging to their reputation and good name. This was decided by the municipal court in Prague. The association, which has been fighting for the preservation of the Kyselka spa for a long time, must also remove the attacked statements from the website www.zachrante-lazne-kyselka.cz. However, the association claims it was unaware of the court ruling.
     "The court's ruling confirmed that no one may unlawfully damage another's reputation or personal rights," said Alessandro Pasquale upon learning of the judgment, which is available to ČTK. He added that he would appreciate a constructive approach from ASORKD towards saving the spa through the public benefit corporation Lázně Kyselka under the leadership of Vladimír Lažanský.
     The judgment listed dozens of citations from websites that, according to the court, attacked the good name of KMV or its director. Many were from comments by visitors to the website. The texts included expressions like "cattle," "arrogant liar, and fraud," and so on. The association is required to apologize through the media and also to post the apology on its website. It must also pay the costs of the court proceedings amounting to over 30,000 crowns.
     ASORKD Vice President Martin Kadrman, however, told ČTK today that the association was unaware of the court or the ruling. "We moved and haven't had time to change the address yet. It is therefore possible that court letters were sent to the old address," Kadrman stated.
     According to him, the association will consult with a lawyer to see if it would be possible to repeat the court proceedings. "If not, we will not violate the law and will comply with the ruling," Kadrman added. However, he stated that it would not be a sincere apology.
     KMV also succeeded last week in an appeals proceeding regarding a preliminary injunction concerning advertising on tram cars in Prague. The appeals by the opponents were completely rejected. However, the courts will also deal with other disputes between the heritage association and KMV.
     ASORKD has long been highlighting the desperate state of monuments in the former Kyselka spa in Karlovy Vary. Some buildings belong to KMV, while others belong to RIS, which the association labels as KMV's front company. However, RIS has decided to hand over the buildings to the public benefit corporation Lázně Kyselka, which aims to save the complex. KMV has also started to repair its buildings.