Josef Stava - Separating Fact from Fiction

Josef Stava (Josef Šťáva), the founder and owner of Liechtenstein-based blood plasma trading company Diag Human, has been described in many different ways. In an article in the respected German publication Der Spiegel, Stava was described as "one of the most enigmatic and successful dealers in the blood business". Jan Urban, author of the 2007 book Tunel plný krve - aneb kauza Diag Human (loosely translated as Tunnel Full of Blood - The Case of Diag Human), describes Stava as "highly intelligent, principled and a man who believes passionately in his case." Urban also explains that, after the death of Stava's wife from cancer in 1999 - which Stava partially attributes to the stress caused by the virulently negative publicity campaign against him in his native Czech Republic - the Swiss-Czech entrepreneur vowed never to give up in his fight for legal redress and an apology from the Czech state for the way in which he was treated.

Until recently there was little coverage of Stava's story outside the Czech Republic, except in Germany, where he was questioned over his involvement in a corruption scandal involving the Bavarian Red Cross.

However, a landmark ruling by an arbitration panel in 2008, which Diag Human won, once more ignited the interest of outside observers. The reason for this is simple. The total damages owed by the Czech state to Diag human are now estimated at around CZK 10 billion (around EUR 411 million). When one considers that Josef Stava was willing to accept a payment of CZK 2 billion in 2001 (which the state rejected) and that the total amount now owed to him is more than five times that amount, one can see why this case has become not only highly embarrassing for the Czech Republic, but also politically highly sensitive.

One can also begin to understand why the state has consistently tried to portray Stava as a crook, who is somehow undeserving of the money that he is now owed. He has been described in the Czech media as a gangster and an arms trader. He has been accused of trading HIV infected blood in the early 1990s. In 1992, the Czech Health Ministry even accused him of mixing the blood of African primates with human blood. Another accusation was that Stava was smuggling deep frozen blood plasma from Slovakia and declaring it as orange juice.

But an in-depth investigation by Jan Urban found not one shred of evidence to support these claims. On the contrary, when Urban interviewed journalists who had written highly critical articles about Josef Stava, he discovered that many of the claims had originated from one single source, an ex-Stasi officer, whose claims were never verified.

Over more than 16 years since arbitration proceedings first began between the Czech state and Diag Human, Josef Stava has rarely made efforts to publicise his side of the story, preferring to let the facts speak for themselves. The final decision of the arbitration panel in 2008, in which Stava was awarded damages of over CZK 8 billion, was a clear sign that his stoic refusal to give up had paid off.

But even after the final decision of the arbitration panel, the Czech government still refuses to accept defeat, even despite the damning verdict of the arbitrators that the state had tried to influence proceedings in its favour and had demonstrated a flagrant disregard for proper legal process.


SOURCE: Cplash