The trial of the young men accused of the church fire in Gutech begins

Ostrava - A trial will begin today in Ostrava involving three young men who are accused of deliberately setting fire to a rare wooden church from the 16th century in Třinec-Guty last year. The trial will be closed to the public because one of the defendants was under 18 at the time of the act. Two of the defendants face up to 15 years in prison, while the third, who was not an adult at the time, faces up to five years in prison.

A faithful replica of the burned church will be constructed, with much of the funding covered by insurance. Costs associated with the furnishings will be covered by a collection announced by the town hall in Třinec. Construction is expected to begin this fall.

The rare Church of the Body of Christ from the 16th century was a national cultural monument. It was destroyed by fire last August. The material damage amounts to over 20 million crowns. Shortly after the fire, investigators charged three young men from the Ostrava and Frýdek-Místek regions. At least one of them allegedly intended to continue carrying out arson attacks and had already targeted another building. They are charged with a particularly serious crime of endangerment.

The indictment names two youths, Jan Bortel and Jakub Hurník. The third defendant is a minor. According to the indictment, he was the one who set the church on fire using several bottles of flammable liquid.