Czech court orders prison time for defamation and incitement against Ukrainians

The verdict has yet to take effect. According to Judge Vít Sochovský, both men committed defamation of a nation and incitement to hatred.

The men expressed themselves in a publicly shared video. Tušl told the court that he has nothing against Ukrainians in general and that he had been condemning the conduct of some nationalist Ukrainians.

Tušl also apologized for the vulgarities he used in the video. He asserted that he believes he is innocent but that it was inappropriate to express himself in the form of a video.

Čermák told the judge he had made a mistake and also admitted his speech had been inappropriate. Prosecutor Ondřej Hula informed journalists that he considers the actions of the defendants to be highly dangerous to society.

In the indictment, the prosecutor described that in August of this year, the men from Netovice in the Kladno area broadcast live on social media a video in which they defamed Ukrainians. In one of the videos where he and Tušl called for a counter-demonstration to a gathering of Ukrainians, Cermák said, among other things, that “Ukrainians are starting to multiply here, one demonstration after another. We must start acting immediately, otherwise we will go to hell.”

The prosecutor accused them of defaming a national, racial, ethnic or other group of persons, as well as of inciting hatred against a group of persons or inciting restriction of their rights and freedoms. In his closing argument, Hula said the defendants had defamed the entire Ukrainian nation and called for violent combat.

Hula drew attention to the broad dissemination of this hate and the defendants’ drive for visibility, as the video was seen by several thousand people and was repeatedly shared. He then suggested ten months in prison for Čermák, in whom he sees a higher level of self-reflection, and 20 months for Tušl.

The defendants, who have been in custody, were brought to court by an escort. “Every person makes a mistake at some point,” Čermák told the court, adding that some of the terms he had used crossed the line of what is appropriate.

“In hindsight, I recognize that it was not appropriate and I apologize for that,” Čermák added. He also claimed to have never believed what he said on the video and to have been interested primarily in attracting a big viewership.

Čermák admitted that dozens of donations worth CZK 100 [EUR 4] were then made to his account. For his part, Tušl testified that he received donations worth between CZK 10,000 and CZK 20,000 [EUR 400-800] in total.

Tušl told the court he had used his minor daughter’s bank account and published the number on his social media accounts. He has been convicted twice before, once for making threats and once for theft, and was given suspended sentences on both counts.

The video contained a number of derogatory, vulgar statements describing Ukrainians as dirty and the like. It contained statements such as “They should go back to Kyiv” or “After all, it’s a regular occupation [of the country], what they’re doing here.”

The men also criticized Ukrainians for allegedly owning expensive smartphones. The case is not the only one for which Čermák and Tušl have been prosecuted.

Tušl is suspected along with two other men of having made dangerous threats against Czech Medical Association president Milan Kubko in association with his support for measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 or for the compulsory immunization of some groups against the virus. Čermák is suspected of promoting and supporting terrorism because he called for an MP to be attacked.