Then Immigration Minister, Ian Lees-Galloway fronts media in 2018 over the reversal of his controversial decision to grant residency to Czech drug dealer Karel Sroubek. Video / NZ Herald
A convicted drug smuggler and former world kickboxing champion who made his way into New Zealand two decades ago using another person’s passport will be deported in March.
The Immigration and Protection Tribunal recently sealed the fate of 41-year-old Czech national Karel Sroubek following his long-running and highly-publicised battle toremain in the country.
After losing the first stage of an appeal against the Government’s attempt to deport him, Sroubek went on to oppose his exile on humanitarian grounds.
Following the September hearing, the tribunal released its 53-page decision on December 8, ruling that while there were exceptional humanitarian circumstances found in the case it would not be unjust or unduly harsh to deport him.
In dismissing the appeal, the immigration body ordered that his deportation be delayed for three months, commencing on the date of the decision.
“This is because given the length of time the appellant has resided in New Zealand, he will have matters to attend to prior to his departure, including making arrangements in respect of his business and outstanding legal proceedings in New Zealand and the Czech Republic,” the decision said.
Sroubek’s lawyer, Simon Laurent, was not prepared to comment on the ruling and told NZME that Sroubek “does not wish to comment to the media about his affairs at this time”.
As well as being a world-class martial arts star, Sroubek has a criminal history both in New Zealand and in the Czech Republic.
He arrived in New Zealand in 2003 under the false identity of Jan Antolik and later gained permanent residency under that name through the sports talent visa category.
However, in 2011, after Czech police contacted New Zealand immigration authorities and an investigation took place, he was found guilty of supplying false information to immigration, and of having a false passport.
Upon completing 200 hours of community service Sroubek was discharged without conviction - avoiding any risk of deportation - after a district court judge accepted he had fled to New Zealand and used the false identity because he feared for his safety.
Convicted drug smuggler Karel Sroubek. Photo / NZME
Sroubek claimed he had been pressured by Czech police officers to give false evidence in relation to a 2003 murder in Prague.
He alleged that when he declined to give false evidence, he was threatened with being charged as an accessory to the murder.
Prior to the immigration offences in New Zealand, Sroubek had been cleared of kidnapping and aggravated robbery charges but was later, in 2016, convicted of importing $375,000 worth of ecstasy after 5kg of the drug was brought into the country in a shipment of fruit juice.
He was jailed for five years and nine months and was eventually released on parole in September 2020.
While in jail, Immigration New Zealand initiated an inquiry into Sroubek’s possible deportation.
Soon after, he hit the headlines when then immigration minister Iain Lees-Galloway made the controversial decision to cancel his liability for deportation and grant him a new residency visa under his real name.
A report prepared by immigration for Lees-Galloway to consider had set out Sroubek’s immigration history, including that he had arrived in the country under a fake passport.
It also included that Sroubek was wanted by the Czech authorities for service of 54 months’ imprisonment for attacking police officers and a taxi driver, disorderly conduct and damaging property in 1999.
However, two months later, following intense public outcry and a Government review, Lees-Galloway reversed his decision and issued a new deportation liability notice.
The notice was made on the grounds that Sroubek’s visa may have been granted as a result of an administrative error as he had not disclosed his Czech convictions in his applications, and those convictions made him an excluded person under the Immigration Act.
Former Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway (left) came under fire for his initial decision to grant Sroubek residency. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Sroubek then lodged an appeal with the Immigration and Protection Tribunal against his liability for deportation, brought on both the facts and humanitarian grounds.
In an August 2022 decision, the tribunal considered and dismissed the appeal on the facts, and then a hearing to consider the humanitarian grounds took place the following month.
The latter decision detailed Sroubek’s evidence to the tribunal, in which he denied his offending in his homeland. He said he was working to have the case reopened and the convictions quashed and that he had not declared the convictions when he came to New Zealand as he was travelling under a false identity.
He also told the tribunal about his life in New Zealand and the consequences of his deportation.
Here, he pursued kickboxing professionally and went on to win several world and Commonwealth titles representing New Zealand at international tournaments held in Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia. He also travelled to Germany with a New Zealand team as a trainer.
Sroubek currently teaches kickboxing as well as hot boxing and yoga and is working to develop an app for personal trainers.
If he was to return to the Czech Republic he would lose the opportunity to develop the app, he would be unable to pursue his property proceedings currently before the High Court, and his life would be “sad and empty” as his partner was not able to relocate with him, he told the tribunal.
Sroubek believed he could not gain employment in the Czech Republic with the qualifications he has gained in New Zealand and he did not have a support network there to help him rebuild his life.
He believed he would be imprisoned upon his return and labelled a “snitch” by those connected to the Prague murder, which would make his circumstances in prison “unimaginable”.
Sroubek told the tribunal Lees-Galloway’s decision to deport him was unjust and unfair. He claimed to have been the victim of “a media campaign and a political witch hunt” and that his treatment had been “inhumane”.
“Had it not been for his case entering the public arena, he would have been granted a resident visa and got on with his life,” the decision stated, referencing Sroubek’s evidence.
In response, Immigration Minister Michael Wood submitted the matters relied on by Sroubek in relation to his connection to New Zealand were not exceptional and that the High Court proceedings could be pursued from overseas.
After considering the case, the tribunal found “by a narrow margin” that Sroubek’s life he has established in New Zealand gave rise to exceptional circumstances of a humanitarian nature.
However, it went on to find that it would not be unjust or unduly harsh for him to be deported.
“The appellant is liable for deportation because he was granted residence as a result of an administrative error as he was an excluded person,” it stated.
