Czech court gives jail sentence for Nazi salutes

The local court today sent two Czechs, Jan Dufek and Petr Nikoluk, to prison for 18 and six months, respectively, for having given the Nazi salute at a birthday party a few years ago.

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Neo-Nazi party in Duchcov

A flag with a swastika also appeared on a video from the party, held in a bar in Duchcov, north Bohemia.

The court also found Dufek guilty of buying and selling a functioning machine gun and of drawing welfare benefits that he was not eligible for.

The verdict has not taken effect as both Dufek and Nikoluk have appealed it.

The two men defended themselves in court today saying they had been drunk and did not intend to promote Nazism. The video was not designed for public release, they said.

Nevertheless, the state attorney emphasised they were tried for what they did, not for having videoed their activities.

Political analyst and expert in extremism, Zdenek Zboril, told the court that slogans such as Sieg heil and Ein Volk, ein Fuehrer, which the suspects uttered, were typical Nazi slogans.

Zboril also identified the tattoo on Dufek’s body as a portrait of Adolf Hitler and Nazi symbols.