Czech court rules it is proportionate for "Tomio Okamura's Freedom and Direct Democracy" to be called fascist, verdict has taken effect
According to a recent court decision, the Czech weekly RESPEKT does not have to apologize to "Tomio Okamura's Freedom and Direct Democracy" (SPD) party for having called it a "fascist movement in parliament" in its "Last Week" opinion column. Editor-in-Chief Erik Tabery reported the news in RESPEKT last week.
“A convincing 100 % of the vote was received by Tomio Okamura when the fascist movement in parliament, ‘Tomio Okamura’s Freedom and Direct Democracy‘, re-elected its chair and only candidate,” RESPEKT published last year, and the SPD responded by suing. The lawsuit states: “The good reputation of the plaintiff is, given its nature, an irreplaceable prerequisite for maintaining his voter base and for acquiring new members and voters.”
Tabery writes that journalists pose the main threat to the SPD because they point out its errors and scandals and provide the context necessary to understanding the movement. “If journalists back down, the movement will be able to continue to artificially build its fictional good reputation. It is in the public interest for journalists to contribute information, analyses and opinions that make it possible for the public to understand what the politics of the SPD entail. Fascism will return here otherwise,” he wrote.
“The SPD has two faces. One is that of a classic democratic party. It takes advantage of all its rights in order to defend itself, including lawsuits like this one. However, it has another, darker face. SPD politicians promise violence and attempt to lead their followers toward greater radicalization,” Tabery wrote.
Through its lawyer, RESPEKT told the SPD it will not apologize and added a long list of examples of the SPD’s steps substantiating its description of the movement as a fascist one. These included some of its members calling for violence and for minorities to be murdered, the spreading of hatred and xenophobia, and the fact that the organization of the party functions via the “leader principle“.
“The court, after evaluating all of the circumstances of the case, came to the conclusion that using the phrase ‘fascist movement in parliament’ is in accordance with the requirement of proportionality,” said Tabery when publicizing the court decision; since the SPD has not appealed, the verdict has taken effect. “The terminology we used can now freely be used by anybody. Not just because we now have a verdict, but because it is the truth.”
