Chamber of Deputies guards remove spectators for whistling in Prague

On Friday evening, during a debate on abolishing television and radio fees in the Czech Chamber of Deputies, guards removed several people from the public gallery after whistling was heard in the chamber. The session dragged on until Saturday morning, and demonstrations took place outside the parliament building on Malostranské Square.

Whistling interrupts the session

At that very moment, the chairman of the media committee, František Talíř (KDU-ČSL), was speaking at the rostrum. He was explaining why, in his view, the government is pushing to change how the media is funded, and remarked that it is hard to believe arguments about efficiency amid such “rather bizarre scenery.” He responded to the spectators in the gallery as he spoke.

Deputy Speaker Jiří Barták (Motoristé) did not like the noise. He reproached Talíř, saying he was breaking the Chamber’s rules and encouraging the public to do the same. Barták briefly interrupted the session and demanded that security remove the offenders from the gallery.

“In the name of the law, kneel”

According to Jan Voves, there were seven or eight of them, and it all happened quickly. He and Matěj Fišer were among those taken out. Both say they did not whistle or cause any disorder, and they do not understand the guards’ actions. Voves confirms that one person whistled, but he does not know who.

According to Voves, they took out three banners, security ran up at once, tore the banners from their hands and dragged them behind the gallery, where some of those detained were made to kneel for a while. When he asked whether this was really necessary, since he found it humiliating, he was told: “In the name of the law, kneel!” Fišer admits that the whistle really did disrupt the proceedings, but he found the treatment of the group as a whole improper. After the detainees were escorted downstairs, both say they were treated correctly.

Police remain silent

Fišer was surprised by something else too: they waited outside for an hour and a half for someone to leave and free up seats, yet inside 60–70% of the seats in the gallery were empty. They were told that an order to limit capacity had come in during the day. The editors twice asked the Chamber whether the gallery was restricted on Friday and how many people could be there at once, but received no answer to that question.

Martina Lustigová, head of the media and PR department of the Chamber’s Office, said that the Police of the Czech Republic’s Protective Service is responsible for and decides on security inside the buildings and in their immediate vicinity, and that the Office’s leadership respects its procedures and decisions. The editors have been seeking a comment from the police, to whom the Chamber’s security service reports, since Friday evening.

Fišer explained why they came: they wanted to show right in the Chamber that people care. “Public media can be lost only once,” he said.

Around Prague guide on the topic: 9 галерей и арт-пространств Праги, где искусство встречается с индустриальной эстетикой: гид для тех, кто устал от барокко

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz