Sroubek faces wait on parole decision
Drug smuggler says he deserves early jail release as he’s trying to be a better man
Czech drug-smuggler Karel Sroubek will have to wait to find out if he can have an early release from prison.
The Parole Board yesterday decided to reserve its decision on whether to release Sroubek, also known as Jan Antolik, saying it needed more time to discuss it.
Sroubek has been battling to stay in New Zealand once his sentence finishes, arguing his life is in danger if he returns to his homeland.
His case sparked a political firestorm that burned Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway.
If the Parole Board frees Sroubek, it could mean he would be released into the community as he waits for the Immigration and Protection Tribunal to assess his appeal on deportation.
Sroubek was controversially given residency in New Zealand despite having gang affiliations and serving a prison sentence for smuggling 5kg of MDMA, also known as Ecstasy.
Lees-Galloway was criticised for his initial decision to grant residency, and eventually issued a new deportation liability notice, meaning once Sroubek finished his drug-smuggling sentence he would be ordered out of the country.
Sroubek first came to New Zealand in 2003 on a false passport in the name of Jan Antolik. In 2011 a jury found him guilty of using a false passport and lying to immigration officials, but he was discharged without conviction by the trial judge, who believed his evidence.
The representative kickboxer claimed he had to flee his home in the Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, in fear of corrupt police officers and a criminal after witnessing a murder.
Four years later he was jailed for five years and nine months for bringing a drug used to make Ecstasy into the country hidden among legitimate goods. He is due to finish his sentence in early 2022.
At yesterday’s parole hearing, Sroubek said he was taking prison “day by day”, running yoga classes, and trying to remain positive.
“It’s been the hardest time of my life, I’ll be honest,” he said.
Sroubek said he took responsibility for his offending and that he’d made a “terrible mistake” in committing the crimes.
“I’ve learned that there’s no shortcut in life. I’ve lost everything that I really cared for.
“I want to be a good member of the community, I don’t want to be remembered as a criminal, I don’t want to be portrayed as a person who’s committing crimes because that’s not who I am.
“I’m trying to be a better man. I was trying before I even got found guilty of this and I’m trying every day in this place.”
The board asked why Sroubek fought his convictions so hard and denied all the offending only to turn around and say he accepted responsibility in a parole hearing.
He said it was simply because he did not want to go to jail and had been doing all he could to prevent it.
“That makes me wonder whether you’re saying whatever is necessary for you to get out of jail again,” board member Sam Perry said.
Sroubek and the board also discussed convictions and warrants from Czechia, and issues of misconduct in prison.
One of those was when Sroubek spoke over the phone to a journalist, trying to organise an interview.
The other incident was an allegation of speaking threateningly to his wife, but the charge was dismissed.
Sroubek said he has a job offer in the building industry for when he is released and he hopes to become a productive member of the community.
I want to be a good member of the community, I don’t want to be remembered as a criminal. Karel Sroubek at his parole hearing