Czech Supreme Court upholds sentences for anti-system influencers who broadcast hate speech against Ukrainians live on social media
The Czech Supreme Court has upheld the sentencing of Tomáš Čermák and Patrik Tušl for their hateful remarks about Ukrainians. Čermák's suspended sentence for this offense was upheld and Tušl will spend 10 months in prison, public broadcaster Czech Television reported.
The spokesperson for the first-instance court in Kladno, Ivo Poštolka, informed the media of the ruling. The case was dealt with in Kladno because both men broadcast live a year ago from Netovice in the Kladno area the video on social media in which they defamed Ukrainians.
Czech Television reports that Poštolka said the Supreme Court handed down a ruling rejecting both of the convicted defendants’ appeals as unjustified on 12 July. The Regional Court had handed down sentences in December against both defendants for defamation of a nation and inciting hate.
“This is decidedly no longer about the right to freely express one’s opinon,” presiding Judge Kateřina Hykešová said. She characterized the remarks by Čermák and Tušl as significantly interfering with the rights of others, i.e., Ukrainians seeking temporary protection in the Czech Republic.
Tušl is currently in prison; in addition to the case from Kladno, he has also been convicted of threatening a police officer and his former partner. In July, the court extended his sentence to 19 months in prison for stalking the head of the Czech Medical Association, Milak Kubek, with intent to harm, as well as for rioting outside the home of evolutionary biologist Jaroslav Flegr during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Čermák was also sentenced for his role in the Flegr incident. The High Court in Prague sent him to 5.5 years in prison for calling for violence against politicians.
