Petr Švácha
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Petr Švácha is a Czech entomologist with the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.[1] In 2008, Švácha was arrested by Indian authorities for collecting insect specimens in Singalila National Park without proper permits.[2][3] A group of Indian scientists responded by launching a petition in their support [citation needed] which ultimately gathered more than 1,200 signatures from leading entomologists worldwide. However, Švácha was fined, while his assistant Emil Kučera was sentenced to three years imprisonment[4][5] but fled home to the Czech Republic prior to sentencing.[6] Their conviction was the first under India's Biological Diversity Act of 2002.[4]
Švácha is editor-in-chief of the European Journal of Entomology.[7]