Man with Ukrainian flag attacked at populist gathering in Czechia
Czech police are investigating an attack on a young man with a Ukrainian flag that took place last week during an event held by the right-wing populist parties SPD, Trikolora, Svobodny and PRO in Brno.
Source: European Pravda with reference to Brnensky Denik, a Czech news platform focussing on news from Brno
Details: The incident took place on 24 April in the afternoon. As can be seen in the video posted on X (Twitter), several participants of the gathering verbally attacked a group of people, one of whom was holding a Ukrainian flag, urging them to return to Ukraine.
They then tried to take the flag away from the young man. During the scuffle, another man knocked the young man with the flag down. After that, several other people joined the incident.
The victim reported the incident to the police.
Quote from the police spokesman Pavel Schwab: "This person contacted us this morning [Monday 28 April - ed.] to report the incident, we are investigating it and will determine whether it is a criminal offence."
SPD leader Tomio Okamura told the iDnes website that the attack took place after a political gathering ended and claimed that the young man attacked first.
"On the empty streets of Brno, a Ukrainian activist was the first to elbow a defenceless Czech woman. A man then stood up for the woman. Of course, I condemn any violence," Okamura said.
The attack was condemned on X by the human rights ombudsman Klara Šimáčková-Laurenčiková.
"The most disgusting manifestation of aggression and prejudiced hatred. I will immediately contact the police. I believe in fair punishment," she said.
The news website notes that during the demonstration in front of Brno Town Hall, politicians made harsh statements against the current government, "black migrants", LGBT people and Ukrainians.
Okamura, in particular, claimed that Petr Fiala's cabinet had "allocated 232 billion CZK (US$1.4 billion) to Ukrainian refugees at the expense of Czech pensioners". He also promised to deport refugees and "revoke the residence permits of all Ukrainians who receive benefits here and are not working".
The leader of the PRO party, Jindřich Rajchl, said that he "agrees with Donald Trump that Ukraine is to blame for the war, that it did not fulfil and did not want to fulfil the Minsk agreements".
"I agree with Donald Trump that Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a dictator," Rajchl said.
Background:
Czechs trust Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy more than Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, while Slovaks trust the Russian ruler more.
In early February, Czech President Petr Pavel signed an amended law to extend protection to refugees from Ukraine, criminalise unauthorised activities in favour of a foreign state, and tighten conditions for Russian applicants for Czech citizenship.
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