Final Word from Thursday, July 28, 2005
Corruption at the non-EU foreigners' police in Prague is so blatant that it probably couldn't exist without tacit approval from those in higher places. There's a corruption hotline, but honest foreigners fear to use it because of the risk of deportation. The interior ministry has made noise in the past about cleaning things up, but eyewitnesses say the situation is getting worse, now that EU citizens are being sent elsewhere. Ukrainian prostitutes have it easier than ever. If the immigration police are willing to give their pimp a stack of rubber stamps in exchange for an envelope, would they also be willing to shut their eyes if the applicant were a potential terrorist? Where's their allegiance? To the state, or to their pocket? Couldn't their bribe-taking potentially border on treason? In this age of terror, what used to be relatively minor corruption suddenly becomes a serious national-security issue.[Czech Repubic European Union terrorism bribery Ukraine]