Two men who produced deadly liquor that killed dozens of people in the Czech Republic were sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.
Rudolf Fian and Tomas Krepela will spend the rest of their lives in prison for producing alcohol laced with methanol that killed 50 people in 2012, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Czech court also sentenced eight other people for their involvement in the alcohol distribution.
In September 2012, Fian and Krepela mixed 5,000 liters of methanol with an equal amount of drinking alcohol, selling the illegal liquor to unsuspecting buyers. The alcohol was first sold to buyers at outdoor stands. Once the operation expanded the men used labels that resembled popular types of vodka and rum.
Thirty-eight people died after consuming the methanol, a lethal form of alcohol found in antifreeze, but dozens more have since died, the BBC reported. Others suffered irreversible injuries, including blindness.
"The defendants clearly knew that by doing so they could seriously injure or even kill many people," Radomir Koudela, head judge of the regional court in the town of Zlin, said according to the WSJ.
Those who died were of Czech, Slovak and Polish nationalities, among others. The poisonings caused local officials to place a temporary ban on the sale of liquor in the Republic. Beer and wine sales were not affected.
The eight other convicted received sentences ranging from eight to 21 years. It is the most severe penalty issued in the Czech Republic for endangering the public since communism was abolished in 1989, according to the WSJ.
Lawyers for all defendants announced they plan on appealing their convictions.
Deaths from homemade alcohol consumption are sometimes reported in places where alcohol is either expensive or banned. In early May, at least 60 Kenyans died after drinking a homemade batch of alcohol spiked with methanol.
