Olomouc, North Moravia,, April 26 (CTK) – The Olomouc High Court upheld the decision to abolish the self-styled consulate called the Representation Centre of the Donetsk People’s Republic in Ostrava, north Moravia, on Thursday.
The court rejected the appeal filed by this association’s head Nela Liskova, who presented herself as an honorary consul of Donetsk.
According to the verdict, the activity of the centre, whose removal the court also ordered, was unlawful and it overlapped the work of other public administration bodies.
Liskova said after the verdict that she was considering filing a petition for an appellate review.
She also said she would like to continue her activities and did not rule out the establishment of another association.
The court has ruled that the activity of the association, which called itself the Representation Centre of the Donetsk People’s Republic, violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. It did not respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, court spokesman Stanislav Cik said.
Liskova called the dispute a political case. There were no reasons to cancel the association, she added
She said it was strange that it had been working for a year, but then it had to be abolished after the intervention of then foreign minister Lubomir Zaoralek (Social Democrats, CSSD).
Liskova opened the centre in Ostrava in September 2016. She said then she wished to reinforce the relations between the Czech Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic, whose independence and sovereignty she supported.
It was proclaimed by pro-Russian rebels from east Ukraine who were fighting the government’s armed forces.
The Regional Court in Ostrava started dealing with the establishment of the Representation Centre of the Donetsk People’s Republic on the basis of Zaoralek’s initiative.
He said he did not consider the centre a diplomatic representation since the Czech Republic did not recognise the existence of the Donetsk Republic.
