Czech Police arrest man with Nazi swastika tatoo at anti-Goverment demo where Russian national anthem was played
Detectives in Prague arrested a man with a Nazi swastika tattoo at a demonstration against the Czech Government and in favor of Russia that was held on Malostranské náměstí yesterday by self-described “patriots” who brought Russian flags, attacked the European Union and refugees from Ukraine in their speeches, and criticized the Czech Government for its support of Ukraine. The protesters shouted calls for the Czech supply of weapons to the Army of Ukraine to end, as they are aiding that country with facing up to Russia’s aggression.
Demonstrators also called on the Czech Government to resign. Some protesters waved Russian flags and expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At one moment a recording of the Russian national anthem was played, followed by the music of a Czech band called Ortel, known for its xenophobia. “Our numbers are not small,” declared one protesting woman, according to news server Novinky.cz.
“This republic is going to hell. People succumbed to COVIDism and now they are succumbing to Ukrainianization,” she said.
A protesting man said of the aid being offered to refugees from Ukraine: “This is the Czech Republic. This is our home. They’re just begging and grasping, they want everything for free.”
A long speech full of attacks on the European Union and Ukraine was then given by a well-known anti-refugee reception activist, Jiří Černohorský who, during the COVID-19 pandemic, repeatedly appeared together with other extremists at demonstrations against the official measures taken to prevent the virus from spreading, and later appeared at previous demonstrations supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. Lenka Tarabová also made an appearance yesterday, the activist who, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the protests against compulsory face masks wore a yellow star reminiscent of those that Jewish people were forced to wear by the Nazis, a move that was protested by the Jewish Community.
Another speech was made by a former member of the “Freedom and Direct Democracy” (SPD) movement, Robert Vašíček, who said Ukraine cannot win in a war with Russian and called on Czech Prime Minister Fiala to begin negotiations with Ukraine to end the war, as well as calling on the Czech Republic to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine. Vašíček also called European Union politicians “Fascists” who are establishing what he called a new “thousand-year Reich”.
At the close of his speech, Vašíček agitated on behalf of the “patriotic” entities and his own group of candidates for the local elections in Prague 11. He said he was running for the local assembly together with Romani people whom he described as “supporting patriotism”.
According to information posted to social media, the candidate list for the group “My, co tu žijeme” (“We Who Live Here”) includes Marko Cavali, one of the two chairs of the Romani political party Roma Luma. The entire event transpired without any bigger incidents besides the arrest of the man with a visible Nazi swastika tatoo.
That person was also wearing a t-shirt reading “Combat 44”. The number 44, among members of the extreme right, is code for the abbreviation of the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS) units, while “Combat” refers to a famous neo-Nazi organization.
Police officers took the arrested man to the station and charged him with felony display of sympathy for a movement aiming to suppress human rights and freedoms, for which he faces up to three years in prison if convicted. Police monitored the demonstration from beginning to end and, according to their spokesperson, will review their audiovisual recordings to see whether any other cases of lawbreaking occurred.
