[MAPC-discuss] That democracy thing is really working out

[MAPC-discuss] That democracy thing is really working out

born-digital

email

yes

no

2001-11-02

Dear all,

Here's a sample of what's going on abroad.
Interesting.

X

>Date:         Sat, 3 Nov 2001 02:19:51 -0000
>From: =?iso-8859-2?B?SmFuIMh1bO1r?= <jcu2@CABLEOL.CO.UK>
>Subject:      The Czech prosecute political views
>To: SEELANGS@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
>
>Some of you might find it interesting how the Czech authorities are
>criminalising verbal "approval" of the US terrorist attacks There are a
>number of cases in the Czech Rep. where people have been charged with the
>"crime" of "approving of a criminal offence", although the Czech Bill of
>Rights guarantees freedom of speech.
>
>
>X
>Dept of Slavonic Studies
>University of Glasgow
>
>2nd November, 2001
>Czech internet daily Britske listy reporter Tomas Pecina has now received a
>summons for a police interrogation in connection with his verbal "approval
>of the US attacks".
>
>The document is here, in Czech:
>
>http://www.blisty.cz/fax.php?id=97
>
>When the Czech police started prosecuting a right wing extremist Jan Kopal
>for saying at a public rally in the northern city of Most on 15th September
>2001 that the terrorist attacks served the US right becase it had for years
>practices terrorism abroad, including the bombing of Serbia in 1999. Pecina
>said that it is outrageous to prosecute people for expressing a view. In
>support of the principle of freedom of speech, he has said that he
>demonstratively also approves of the terrorist attacks.
>
>The District Prosecutor´s Office for Prague 2 has recently instructed the
>Czech police to start investigating this "criminal case" and the Czech
>Police has now invited Pecina for questioning, although it is obvious from
>the documentation that Pecina´s statement is a demonstrative gesture, in
>support of freedom of speeech
>
>In response to the summons, Pecina has sent an official complaint against
>the police, pointing out that the Czech Bill of Rights guarantees freedom
of
>speech and so people cannot be criminalised for expressing a view.
>
>Britske listy as published the protocol of of the extremist Jan Kopal´s
>questioning by the police regarding this "verbal criminal offence". The
>interview took place last week and the questions "What did you mean by
>saying that..."  "Were you aware that TV cameras were present...?" were
>rather reminiscent of pre-1989 communist police questions asked  of
>interrogated dissidents.
>
>X
>University of Glasgow
>
>
>
>27th Oct. 2001:
>
>Czech police investigates grafitti for a possible criminal offence
>
>In the south eastern town of Zlin, the locals have alerted the police to
>some grafitti on a city wall, an official space for making grafitti. A
>picture of a man with what looks like a turban has recently appeared there,
>with a sign "Solidarity with the people of Afghanistan!" The police is
>trying to analyse whether it is a picture of Jimi Hendrix or of Osama bin
>Laden. If they conclude that it is bin Laden, they will initiate criminal
>proceedings against the authors of the picutre. See this article (the
>picture in question is included).
>
>The picture of the graffiti is here:
>http://www.flashnews.cz/index.php3?iid=10600&detailclanku=43041
>
>X
>
>CZECH PROSECUTORS: APPROVING OF THE ACTS OF TERROR IN THE US IS A CRIMINAL
>OFFENCE
>
>The Czech News Agency, 2nd October, 2001:
>
>Approval of the recent terrorist acts against the United States can be
>qualified as a criminal offence. But when investigating these cases,
>prosecutors will have sensitively to look for a borderline between freedom
>of speech and a criminal act. Representatives of the Regional, Higher
>Prosecutor´s Offices and the General Prosecutor´s Office agreed on this in
>Brno today,
>
>"We are all in agreement that the Criminal Code makes it possible to
>prosecute culprits [verbally approving of the terrorist attacks in the US]
>under several sections," said Lumir Crha, the Deputy of the Prosecutor
>General.
>
>Crha said that this criminal activity is "a new thing in the Czech
>Republic". The aim of prosecuting the autors of the remarks [approving of
>terrorist acts] is not, in Crha´s view, suppression of freedom of speech.
>"It is necessary to realise that it is only possible to use one´s freedom
of
>speech until the moment when a criminal offence is being committed," said
>Crha. He said that it is necessary to distinguish between "constructive
>criticism" of the United States and the approval of the attacks.
>
>Czech Justice Secretary Jaromir Bures has recently said that statements
made
>by the ultra right-wing Chairman of the National Social Block, Jan Kopal,
>approving of the terrorist attacks can be classified as a criminal offence
>of "supporting terrorism".
>
>
>
>"Idnes", 1st October 2001:
>
>http://zpravy.idnes.cz/domaci.asp?r=domaci&c=A011001_145734_domaci_nad&t=A0
1
>
>LEAFLETS APPROVING OF TERORISM WERE FOUND IN THE POST OFFICE!
>
>Liberec, Northern Bohemia: Three leaflets whose author approves of the
>terrorist attacks against the USA, were discovered by employees of the Post
>Office in Liberec amongst letters. The Post Office Employees immediately
>handed these leaflets to the police. "They were normal sheets of paper with
>capital letters on them, written with a felt tip pen," said the Liberec
>police spokesperson Vlasta Suchankova. "We have sent the leaflets to the
>Prague criminological institute for analysis."
>
>The leaflets literally [sic] said: "George Bush = a fundamentalist and
>creator of a war hysteria! The United States themselves are to blame for
>this! Innocent people have died! The US have armed the terrorists
>themselves! Let the US start with criticism in their own back yard! The
>regime in the Czech Republic wishes to put into prison people who disagree
>with US politics. People, beware of such a regime! It is afraid of the
>truth! Such a regime should end. The Fourth Resistance Movement."
>
>Anyone could have thrown these leaflets into a letterbox, said the police
>spokeswoman. They were not in sealed envelopes.
>
>Two days after the attacks against the United States someone stuck a poster
>on the door of the [conservative] MP Jiri Drda (ODS). The poster appealed
>for support for bin Laden. "The United States is responsible for the
>suffering of the Third World and so our first act was directed against the
>US - there will be further acts, aimed against all the countries of the
>Euroatlantic civilisation," the poster said.
>
>The Prague Institute of Criminology has now produced a report which says
>that it might be possible to ascertain on what equipment the poster had
been
>manufactured. :)
>
>
>
>The Czech News Agency, 2nd October, 2001:
>
>
>
>http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/view-id.php4?id=20011002E00706&tbl=zpravy&kostra=
l
>etáky
>
>FURTHER LEAFLETS IN LIBEREC
>
>Further three handwritten leaflets approving the terrorist attack against
>the United States appeared in Liberec. The police spokesperson Vlasta
>Suchankova said that the police sent them to Usti nad Labem for a
>criminological and graphological anaysis.
>
>
>
>24th September, 2001:
>
>
>THE CZECHS HAVE CHARGED INDIVIDUALS WHO APPROVE OF THE TERRORIST ACTS IN
THE
>US
>
>
>Home Secretary Stanislav Gross told the media that the police will be
>prosecuting Jan Kopal and other right wing radicals for saying that the
>United States has been justifiably attacked by  terrorists. These
>individuals are to be prosecuted on the basis of Article 165 of the Penal
>Code: (He who publicly approves of a criminal offence or who publicly
>praises a perpetrator of a criminal offence will be punished by
imprisonment
>of up to one year.)
>
>Main Evening News, Czech TV, Wednesday 19th September:
>
>"Jan Kopal, Chairman of the extreme right wing National Social Bloc has
been
>charged by the prosecutor in the city of Most for approving of a criminal
>offence. If found guilty, Kopal can be imprisoned for a year. During a
>demonstration which took place on Saturday 15th Septemer, Kopal said: "A
>country like the United States which committed so much evil in the past,
>which essentially has been supporting international terrorism and
>participated in missions like Yugoslavia where innocent civilians were
being
>murdered does not deserve anything else but such an attack." He also said
>that Osama bin Laden should become an example for Czech children. The Czech
>government is preparing measures against individuals who approve of the
>terrorist attacks against the United States."
>
>Nova TV, Main Evening News, Wednesday 19th September:
>
>"Rather serious were the statements made by Jan Kopal, Chairman of the
>National Social Block, who said of the United States at the weekend that a
>country which has supported international terrorism deserves such a
>terrorist attack. Kopal has now been charged. The police now warns
>especially young people that they should not be chanting slogans,
especially
>at football matches, approving of the attack against the United States.
Such
>behaviour will be harshly punished."
>
>Czech Television, Main Evening News Thursday 20th September:
>
>"The police has arrested two 18-year old youths who chanted slogans
>celebrating the terrorist attacks against the US at Hlavateho Street in
>Prague 4 on Wednesday night. One of the youths has hit a policemen on the
>shoulder. The youths have been charged with hooliganism and with assaulting
>public officials. If found guilty, they can be sentenced to three years´
>imprisonment."
>
>Britske listy, 21st September 2001:
>
>Tomas Pecina: It is rather doubtful how the Czech authorities wish to
>prosecute this "crime of approving a criminal offence" since according to
>Articles 17-20 of the Penal Code it is impossible to use Czech law to judge
>the criminality or otherwise of  acts committed by foreign nationals on
>foreign territory. It is not possible to use another country´s Code of Law,
>because thus for instance expressing support for imprisoned Cuban dissidens
>would be an offence of "approving of a criminal act".
>
>Tomas Pecina: Since I am of the opinion that human rights are indivisible,
I
>cannot react otherwise but in the sense of Kennedy´s statement "Ich bin ein
>Berliner". I avail myself of my right of freedom of speech, guaranteed by
>Article 17 of the Czech Bill of Rights and Freedoms and I hereby proclaim
>that I approve of the terrorist attack, carried out on 11th September 2001
>against the United States.I wish to be prosecuted in the same way as Jan
>Kopal.
>
>A collaborator of Britske listy Helena Svatosova will submit a official
>complaint against Tomas Pecina to the authorities, proposing that he be
>prosecuted for his statement.
>
>Although we naturally disapprove of Mr. Kopal´s comments, we feel that he
>must not be prosecuted for merely expressing his views and are ready to
>defend the democratic right of freedom of speech in the interests of
>democracy in the Czech Republic. It is intolerable to think that people
>should be again afraid to express their views for fear of criminal
>prosecution.
>
>Under Czech law and in the current atmosphere in the Czech Republic, Pecina
>will probably be found guilty.
>
>X
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Mlada fronta Dnes, 11th August, 2001:
>
>http://www.mfdnes.cz/mfdomov.asp?c=186mfdomov_2_
>
>"A man could be sent to prison for praising nationalisation.
>
>Sumperk. - The District Investigator´s Office in Sumperk will hand over to
>the State Prosecutor the case of 23-year old communist activist David
Pecha.
>Pecha is being charged for promoting a movement aiming to suppress
>citizens´rights and freedoms, for slander and for spreading alarmist views.
>In the Pochoden (Torch) periodical, Pecha sang the praises of communism and
>called for the return of the old order, even by means of a military
>struggle. "On Monday, the State Prosecutor will have the file with the
>proposal to prosecute Pecha on his desk," said investigator Vlastimil
Flasar
>yesterday.
>
>Since November 1989, this has been the first case where the authorities are
>prosecuting a left-wing extremist for promoting communism. So far, the
>police has been using the article of the Criminal Code, which outlaws the
>promotion of non-democratic movements only to prosecute  skinheads who have
>praised Hitler and fascism. If found guilty, Pecha could be sentenced to up
>to eight years´ imprisonment. Among other things, Pecha has said in the
>Pochoden newspaper and on the internet that Czech soldiers who disobey
>orders could be, under state of war, shot for insubordination, according to
>NATO guidelines. Pìcha has also said that about a dozen leading Czech
>politicians are criminals and traitors."
>
>
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Friday, November 02, 2001 11:58 PM

[MAPC-discuss] That democracy thing is really working out