Czech court tries man over social media calls to kill Ukrainians

A prosecutor is seeking a suspended sentence for a man charged with incitement to hatred: on social media he wrote about killing Ukrainians and threatened former prime minister Petr Fiala. According to the case file, the court is examining more than thirty comments, and a verdict is expected in November.

The prosecution is led by Vilma Reiserová. According to investigators, the defendant, whom the court refers to as Marek, posted comments and replies in discussions on social media from April 2022 to November 2023. More than thirty posts disparage Ukraine, and in one of them he threatened to behead Fiala for supporting the planned construction of a gigafactory near Plzeň.

Among the harshest statements are calls to slit Ukrainians’ throats, as well as bloody threats against supporters of Ukraine. Posts like these formed the basis of the charge.

During questioning, the defendant admitted that he sometimes went too far with his rhetoric and called his wording crude. He also tried to convince the court that, although his posts may sound like hostility toward all Ukrainians, he did not really mean it that way.

He said he was aiming at Ukraine’s political and military leadership and their henchmen with “fascist beliefs and Banderite ideology.” He admitted he should have named the specific people he was accusing in his posts. He claimed to feel great sympathy for ordinary Ukrainians in the combat zones.

The man also said he is annoyed by people who blame only Russia and blindly support Ukraine. “I let it all out in the comments, I felt better, and life goes on,” he said, adding that his fears of “Ukro-fascism” remain.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz