The Czech prosecute political views

Sat Nov 3 02:19:51 UTC 2001

Some of you might find it interesting how the Czech authorities are
criminalising verbal "approval" of the US terrorist attacks There are a
number of cases in the Czech Rep. where people have been charged with the
"crime" of "approving of a criminal offence", although the Czech Bill of
Rights guarantees freedom of speech.

Jan Culik
Dept of Slavonic Studies
University of Glasgow

2nd November, 2001
Czech internet daily Britske listy reporter Tomas Pecina has now received a
summons for a police interrogation in connection with his verbal "approval
of the US attacks".

The document is here, in Czech:

http://www.blisty.cz/fax.php?id=97

When the Czech police started prosecuting a right wing extremist Jan Kopal
for saying at a public rally in the northern city of Most on 15th September
2001 that the terrorist attacks served the US right becase it had for years
practices terrorism abroad, including the bombing of Serbia in 1999. Pecina
said that it is outrageous to prosecute people for expressing a view. In
support of the principle of freedom of speech, he has said that he
demonstratively also approves of the terrorist attacks.

The District Prosecutor´s Office for Prague 2 has recently instructed the
Czech police to start investigating this "criminal case" and the Czech
Police has now invited Pecina for questioning, although it is obvious from
the documentation that Pecina´s statement is a demonstrative gesture, in
support of freedom of speeech

In response to the summons, Pecina has sent an official complaint against
the police, pointing out that the Czech Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of
speech and so people cannot be criminalised for expressing a view.

Britske listy as published the protocol of of the extremist Jan Kopal´s
questioning by the police regarding this "verbal criminal offence". The
interview took place last week and the questions "What did you mean by
saying that..."  "Were you aware that TV cameras were present...?" were
rather reminiscent of pre-1989 communist police questions asked  of
interrogated dissidents.

Jan Culik

University of Glasgow

27th Oct. 2001:

Czech police investigates grafitti for a possible criminal offence

In the south eastern town of Zlin, the locals have alerted the police to
some grafitti on a city wall, an official space for making grafitti. A
picture of a man with what looks like a turban has recently appeared there,
with a sign "Solidarity with the people of Afghanistan!" The police is
trying to analyse whether it is a picture of Jimi Hendrix or of Osama bin
Laden. If they conclude that it is bin Laden, they will initiate criminal
proceedings against the authors of the picutre. See this article (the
picture in question is included).

The picture of the graffiti is here:
http://www.flashnews.cz/index.php3?iid=10600&detailclanku=43041

Jan Culik

CZECH PROSECUTORS: APPROVING OF THE ACTS OF TERROR IN THE US IS A CRIMINAL
OFFENCE

The Czech News Agency, 2nd October, 2001:

Approval of the recent terrorist acts against the United States can be
qualified as a criminal offence. But when investigating these cases,
prosecutors will have sensitively to look for a borderline between freedom
of speech and a criminal act. Representatives of the Regional, Higher
Prosecutor´s Offices and the General Prosecutor´s Office agreed on this in
Brno today,

"We are all in agreement that the Criminal Code makes it possible to
prosecute culprits [verbally approving of the terrorist attacks in the US]
under several sections," said Lumir Crha, the Deputy of the Prosecutor
General.

Crha said that this criminal activity is "a new thing in the Czech
Republic". The aim of prosecuting the autors of the remarks [approving of
terrorist acts] is not, in Crha´s view, suppression of freedom of speech.
"It is necessary to realise that it is only possible to use one´s freedom of
speech until the moment when a criminal offence is being committed," said
Crha. He said that it is necessary to distinguish between "constructive
criticism" of the United States and the approval of the attacks.

Czech Justice Secretary Jaromir Bures has recently said that statements made
by the ultra right-wing Chairman of the National Social Block, Jan Kopal,
approving of the terrorist attacks can be classified as a criminal offence
of "supporting terrorism".

"Idnes", 1st October 2001:

http://zpravy.idnes.cz/domaci.asp?r=domaci&c=A011001_145734_domaci_nad&t=A01

LEAFLETS APPROVING OF TERORISM WERE FOUND IN THE POST OFFICE!

Liberec, Northern Bohemia: Three leaflets whose author approves of the
terrorist attacks against the USA, were discovered by employees of the Post
Office in Liberec amongst letters. The Post Office Employees immediately
handed these leaflets to the police. "They were normal sheets of paper with
capital letters on them, written with a felt tip pen," said the Liberec
police spokesperson Vlasta Suchankova. "We have sent the leaflets to the
Prague criminological institute for analysis."

The leaflets literally [sic] said: "George Bush = a fundamentalist and
creator of a war hysteria! The United States themselves are to blame for
this! Innocent people have died! The US have armed the terrorists
themselves! Let the US start with criticism in their own back yard! The
regime in the Czech Republic wishes to put into prison people who disagree
with US politics. People, beware of such a regime! It is afraid of the
truth! Such a regime should end. The Fourth Resistance Movement."

Anyone could have thrown these leaflets into a letterbox, said the police
spokeswoman. They were not in sealed envelopes.

Two days after the attacks against the United States someone stuck a poster
on the door of the [conservative] MP Jiri Drda (ODS). The poster appealed
for support for bin Laden. "The United States is responsible for the
suffering of the Third World and so our first act was directed against the
US - there will be further acts, aimed against all the countries of the
Euroatlantic civilisation," the poster said.

The Prague Institute of Criminology has now produced a report which says
that it might be possible to ascertain on what equipment the poster had been
manufactured. :)

The Czech News Agency, 2nd October, 2001:

http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/view-id.php4?id=20011002E00706&tbl=zpravy&kostra=l
etáky

FURTHER LEAFLETS IN LIBEREC

Further three handwritten leaflets approving the terrorist attack against
the United States appeared in Liberec. The police spokesperson Vlasta
Suchankova said that the police sent them to Usti nad Labem for a
criminological and graphological anaysis.

24th September, 2001:

THE CZECHS HAVE CHARGED INDIVIDUALS WHO APPROVE OF THE TERRORIST ACTS IN THE
US

Home Secretary Stanislav Gross told the media that the police will be
prosecuting Jan Kopal and other right wing radicals for saying that the
United States has been justifiably attacked by  terrorists. These
individuals are to be prosecuted on the basis of Article 165 of the Penal
Code: (He who publicly approves of a criminal offence or who publicly
praises a perpetrator of a criminal offence will be punished by imprisonment
of up to one year.)

Main Evening News, Czech TV, Wednesday 19th September:

"Jan Kopal, Chairman of the extreme right wing National Social Bloc has been
charged by the prosecutor in the city of Most for approving of a criminal
offence. If found guilty, Kopal can be imprisoned for a year. During a
demonstration which took place on Saturday 15th Septemer, Kopal said: "A
country like the United States which committed so much evil in the past,
which essentially has been supporting international terrorism and
participated in missions like Yugoslavia where innocent civilians were being
murdered does not deserve anything else but such an attack." He also said
that Osama bin Laden should become an example for Czech children. The Czech
government is preparing measures against individuals who approve of the
terrorist attacks against the United States."

Nova TV, Main Evening News, Wednesday 19th September:

"Rather serious were the statements made by Jan Kopal, Chairman of the
National Social Block, who said of the United States at the weekend that a
country which has supported international terrorism deserves such a
terrorist attack. Kopal has now been charged. The police now warns
especially young people that they should not be chanting slogans, especially
at football matches, approving of the attack against the United States. Such
behaviour will be harshly punished."

Czech Television, Main Evening News Thursday 20th September:

"The police has arrested two 18-year old youths who chanted slogans
celebrating the terrorist attacks against the US at Hlavateho Street in
Prague 4 on Wednesday night. One of the youths has hit a policemen on the
shoulder. The youths have been charged with hooliganism and with assaulting
public officials. If found guilty, they can be sentenced to three years´
imprisonment."

Britske listy, 21st September 2001:

Tomas Pecina: It is rather doubtful how the Czech authorities wish to
prosecute this "crime of approving a criminal offence" since according to
Articles 17-20 of the Penal Code it is impossible to use Czech law to judge
the criminality or otherwise of  acts committed by foreign nationals on
foreign territory. It is not possible to use another country´s Code of Law,
because thus for instance expressing support for imprisoned Cuban dissidens
would be an offence of "approving of a criminal act".

Tomas Pecina: Since I am of the opinion that human rights are indivisible, I
cannot react otherwise but in the sense of Kennedy´s statement "Ich bin ein
Berliner". I avail myself of my right of freedom of speech, guaranteed by
Article 17 of the Czech Bill of Rights and Freedoms and I hereby proclaim
that I approve of the terrorist attack, carried out on 11th September 2001
against the United States.I wish to be prosecuted in the same way as Jan
Kopal.

A collaborator of Britske listy Helena Svatosova will submit a official
complaint against Tomas Pecina to the authorities, proposing that he be
prosecuted for his statement.

Although we naturally disapprove of Mr. Kopal´s comments, we feel that he
must not be prosecuted for merely expressing his views and are ready to
defend the democratic right of freedom of speech in the interests of
democracy in the Czech Republic. It is intolerable to think that people
should be again afraid to express their views for fear of criminal
prosecution.

Under Czech law and in the current atmosphere in the Czech Republic, Pecina
will probably be found guilty.

Jan Culik

Mlada fronta Dnes, 11th August, 2001:

http://www.mfdnes.cz/mfdomov.asp?c=186mfdomov_2_

"A man could be sent to prison for praising nationalisation.

Sumperk. - The District Investigator´s Office in Sumperk will hand over to
the State Prosecutor the case of 23-year old communist activist David Pecha.
Pecha is being charged for promoting a movement aiming to suppress
citizens´rights and freedoms, for slander and for spreading alarmist views.
In the Pochoden (Torch) periodical, Pecha sang the praises of communism and
called for the return of the old order, even by means of a military
struggle. "On Monday, the State Prosecutor will have the file with the
proposal to prosecute Pecha on his desk," said investigator Vlastimil Flasar
yesterday.

Since November 1989, this has been the first case where the authorities are
prosecuting a left-wing extremist for promoting communism. So far, the
police has been using the article of the Criminal Code, which outlaws the
promotion of non-democratic movements only to prosecute  skinheads who have
praised Hitler and fascism. If found guilty, Pecha could be sentenced to up
to eight years´ imprisonment. Among other things, Pecha has said in the
Pochoden newspaper and on the internet that Czech soldiers who disobey
orders could be, under state of war, shot for insubordination, according to
NATO guidelines. Pěcha has also said that about a dozen leading Czech
politicians are criminals and traitors."

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