Prague, Feb 9 (CTK) – A Czech court of appeals has cancelled a previous acquittal of Vladimir Sanka, former head of the Prague Muslim Community suspected of spreading a radical Islamic book, and the lower-level court has to deal with the case again, the appeals court’s spokeswoman Marketa Puci told CTK yesterday.
The case concerns the release of The Fundamentals of Tawheed – Islamic Monotheism, a book by Bilal Philips, who is a persona non grata in some Western countries and his book is banned there as well.
According to the Czech Interior Ministry’s annual report on extremism, the book promotes Islam’s Salafist branch pushing for intolerance and hatred of other religions.
The Prague 1 district court acquitted Sanka last September saying the book promotes an ideology, a step that cannot be prosecuted.
The affair broke out in the wake of a police raid of Muslim centres in Prague in 2014.
Sanka was charged with the crime of establishing, supporting and promoting a movement aimed to suppress human rights and freedoms by securing the translation, publishing and distribution of the controversial book.
The district court concluded that Salafism is an ideology, not a movement, which is why the book does not promote any movement.
Sanka pleads not guilty and calls the charges fabricated.
In 2014, the police raided the Prague seats of the Czech Muslim Communities’ Centre, the Muslim Community in Prague and the Islamic Foundation. They did so during a Friday prayer that is of special importance to Muslims.
Many participants in the prayer, including foreign diplomats, complained about the raid and about being held at gunpoint by the Czech police.
The Interior Ministry assessed the raid as appropriate.
rtj/dr/hol
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