Prague, Nov 15 (CTK) – A group of 60 deputies proposed that the law on public defamation of the Czech president be returned to the criminal code, but the idea was rejected by the right-wing opposition, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and some Social Democrat (CSSD) deputies yesterday.
If the crime were committed, this would carry up to a 12-month prison term.
The bill was submitted primarily by some lawmakers for the government CSSD and ANO as well as opposition Communists (KSCM) and Dawn deputies.
It is yet to be reviewed by the government before its approval process continues.
If the crime of public defamation of the president were reinstated, the criminal code would start to be used in the political fight, Sobotka, CSSD chairman, said.
He said the president undoubtedly deserves respect, but that the proposed bill is “pointless and risky.”
“I view any similar efforts aiming to restrict the freedom of speech, and thereby also the fundamental democratic values in our society, as inappropriate,” Sobotka said.
He said the proposal runs counter to the European Court of Human Rights verdicts.
“The Strasbourg-based court has repeatedly said that a public official, namely a high-ranking politician, has to bear more criticism than ordinary people. Even a sharp criticism of a politician in power is a part of democracy, and it is inadmissible to use the criminal law to crack down on it. The Czech Constitutional Court has made a similar statement as well,” Sobotka wrote in a press release.
The bill is also opposed by Andrej Babis, deputy prime minister and head of the ANO movement.
“I disapprove of it,” he told Czech Radio.
Babis said he did not know about the bill, though it was also signed by some ANO deputies. “I learnt about it from the media,” he said.
According to the bill, “those publicly defaming the president obstruct the execution of his powers, lowering his dignity. They will be punished with up to a 12-month prison term, a fee or forfeit of a thing.”
For the Communists, the bill was signed by party leader Vojtech Filip and for the Dawn, by the head of its deputy group Marek Cernoch.
The protection of the head of state was already anchored in the law in interwar Czechoslovakia, the drafters said.
Under the Communist regime, the defamation of the country and its representatives was punished by up to two years in prison.
In the early 1990s, this crime was deleted from the criminal code.
“At present, we can increasingly witness the insults of the head of state and the state symbols, but there is no relevant protection,” the drafters said.
They pointed out the Dutch example, a 19th century lese-majeste law.
President Milos Zeman will not enter the debate in any way, his spokesman Ovcacek has said.
The bill was rejected by the right-wing opposition, calling it a “return to the Communist protection of big wigs.”
The drafters are of the view that respect can be enforced by law, Jan Farsky (TOP 09) said.
“They are wrong. The presidential office is mostly harmed by Zeman himself as he lies, abuses his powers for revenge and humiliates the Czech nation before the powerful ones,” Farsky said.
The bill was also dismissed by TOP 09 leader Miroslav Kalousek and Roman Sklenak, chairman of the Social Democrat deputy group.
Justice Minister Robert Pelikan (ANO), too, said the amendment to the criminal code to this effect was not necessary.
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