Over the last months, several journalists and environmental organisations, amongst which Greenpeace, received information from internal sources around the construction of the Temelin nuclear power plant. Parts of it have been released to the public and offered to the State Office for Nuclear Safety, which stated not to be interested. Assessments by external experts showed that this information indeed did reveal serious problems.

Today, Greenpeace received information, that a search is going on in Temelin for people that leaked information, that one person was fired and other employees forced to sign a declaration that they will not reveal any information to the press or others outside Temelin. When asked for comment, press speaker Milan Nebesar of Temelin did not know about the action. Temelin's director Ing. Frantisek Hezoucky was unreachable for comment because he is on holiday.

Greenpeace thinks that with this action, Temelin misses the real problem. The real problem is, that there are obviously irregularities that endanger the project. By trying to silence its personnel, Temelin's owner CEZ and its contractors try to wipe the problems under the carpet. Instead, Temelin's management should introduce a culture in which it is perceived normal to report problems and mistakes, in which problems are honestly addressed and in which personnel can openly discuss them in public without any fear. Only in that way we can be sure that CEZ will not activate a dangerous nuclear power plant.

Greenpeace calls on all involved in the Temelin project to stop this witch-hunt, not to treat informers as criminals, but as dedicated experts that cannot live with irregularities on their conscience.

For more information:

Jiri Tutter, general director of Greenpeace CZ: +420.603.443 140

Jan Haverkamp, campaigner (German and English): +420.604.257 822