Czech authorities have convicted nine people for making public statements in support of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, Prosecutor General Igor Striz told local media outlets on Wednesday. Some 90 additional cases are still being investigated.
One of the nine was sentenced to a nine-month prison sentence for making “hateful statements” about Ukrainians on social media, Striz told the Pravo newspaper. The other eight received either fines or suspended sentences.
The jailed man unsuccessfully argued in court that his statements referred only to “Ukrainian nationalists,” and that his right to free speech entitled him to use vulgar language, a Czech TV channel reported at the time.
Another 58 people have been charged with supporting Russian “aggression,” while investigations against 90 more have been opened, Striz told the newspaper.