Czech Constitutional Court gives the green light to purveyors of disinformation, says a democracy has to withstand the dissemination of nonsense

“If freedom of expression is sacrificed in the fight for democracy, there will be nothing left to fight for,” said Judge Tomáš Langášek. Vrabel called the decision “fantastic”.

“People now have freedom of speech again, everybody does,” Vrabel said. According to the Czech Constitutional Court, society and the state must confront disinformation while protecting fundamental freedoms at the same time.

Criminalizing speech on social media should be a last resort, according to the Czech Constitutional Court. “A true democracy must put a stop to the spread of such speech and similar nonsense without resorting to the Criminal Code. This is actually not the purpose of the charge of spreading alarmist news,” Judge Langášek emphasized.

Vrabel had claimed in his online videos that the Czech Republic was planning a nuclear attack on Russia using F-35 aircraft, which could provoke a retaliatory reaction from Moscow. “So if you don’t understand what Minister Jana Černochová is trying to do and have no reason to get on your feet, take a seat on the couch and enjoy the last few months of your life,” he said in a live broadcast on social media.

The Czech Republic does not have nuclear weapons. The Constitutional Court pointed out that Vrabel’s words were more of a political statement than the spreading of alarmist news.

Vrabel had been criticizing the Czech Republic’s purchase of F-35 aircraft, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The crime of spreading a false alarm typically involves, for example, reporting that there is a bomb in a hospital when there isn’t one, or falsely shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater, because it could cause panic or other damage.

“Criminalizing discussion on social media, no matter how misleading, false, or untrue, is problematic because there is no immediate danger of that type there,” Langášek said. Vrabel argued in his constitutional complaint that his statement was an exaggeration that was taken out of context.

“What I was criticizing was the purchase of the F-35 aircraft. The whole other thing, which was taken out of context, was the justification for why I disagreed with this purchase from the start,” he said.

The District Court for Prague 1 originally sentenced Vrabel to four months in prison, suspended for 1.5 years. The Municipal Court in Prague then reduced the verdict to a fine of CZK 10,000 [EUR 400], and the Supreme Court subsequently rejected his appeal.

Now Vrabel’s case is returning to the District Court for Prague 1. Judge Langášek added that public authorities have other tools to combat disinformation, such as fact-checking.

“Criminal prosecution is really the last resort, when there is no other option,” the judge said. He recalled the principle of the “marketplace of ideas” as well, where information is naturally tested and refuted in open debate.

“It would be inconsistent with that model to rely on public power as a censor tasked with ensuring the purity of public discussion,” the Czech Constitutional Court ruled. In recent years, Vrabel has organized protests against government policies, some of which have been attended by tens of thousands of people.

Vrabel is currently active in a movement called “Česká republika na 1. místě!” [Czech Republic First!].