Criminal investigators are investigating Tuesday’s incident at the Prague Municipal Court, on the suspicion that some people may have committed disorderly conduct. Supporters of former journalist Jana Peterková, on trial for spreading alarmist misinformation, broke down the door to the courtroom where her appeal hearing was taking place.
The police had to intervene at the Municipal Court in Prague, where several supporters of the defendant were intending to attack the judicial guard and disrupt court proceedings. Two individuals were brought under control by police using forces.
Several dozen of Peterková’s supporters came to the court hearing, at which she was finally sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence with a three-year probationary period for spreading alarmist information during the coronavirus pandemic. In the hallway, the crowd chanted slogans about the Gestapo and the fascist state.
Criminal investigators have not ruled out the possibility of possibly expanding their investigation to include other criminal offences.
“After the court hearing, which took place in the building of the Prague Municipal Court, Justice Minister Pavel Blažek spoke with the Director of Prison Service Šimon Michailidis and President of the Municipal Court in Prague Jaroslava Pokorná,” said the Ministry of Justice on Twitter. “The intrusion of the public into the courtroom is condemned and is being analysed by the ministry, the prison service and the court management. After the evaluation, Minister Blažek will enter into negotiations with other presidents of the courts in order to prevent the recurrence of similar situations.”
Blažek thanked the judicial guard for handling the situation. According to the prison service, the intervention of the judicial guard was appropriate to the situation, professionally conducted, and in accordance with the law, as stated by the director Simon Michailidis: “The judicial guard fulfilled its legal task to ensure order and security in the court building. At the moment, we consider her intervention to be adequate and appropriate to the situation. We will analyse its progress further.”
