Two men in Czech Republic indicted for approving of neo-Nazi terrorism in Christchurch, New Zealand
The Municipal Court in Prague has received indictments against two men whom the Supreme State Prosecutor has charged with using the Internet in the Czech Republic to express their approval of the terrorist attack committed last year in Christchurch, New Zealand; if convicted, they could serve between five and 15 years in prison for supporting and promoting terrorism through a publicly accessible computer network. Court spokesperson Markéta Puci provided the information to the Czech News Agency yesterday upon the wire service’s request.
The first indictment concerns a man in the Nový Jičín area who discussed the terrorist action on a server called drsnysvet.cz. The second indictment involves a man from the Vsetín area who added his opinion about the terrorist action beneath an article on the Novinky.cz news server.
Last March a right-wing extremist from Australia, Brenton Tarrant, shot dead 51 children, men and women during attacks on two mosques in Christchurch. Tarrant broadcast his crime live on the Internet.
The 29-year old has been indicted with 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and terrorism, and faces life in prison if convicted. He originally refused responsibility for his actions but unexpectedly confessed to them last month.
Shortly after the attack was committed, the Czech Police announced they would be investigating whether people here were approving of the crime through the Internet and social media. Czech Interior Minister Jan Hamáček (Czech Social Democratic Party – ČSSD) called any incitement to hatred unacceptable, as did Police President Jan Švejdar.
According to the most recent information, Czech detectives have proposed indictments in five cases involving approval of terrorism. Tarrant had reportedly been inspired to commit his crime by the example of Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik.
The Supreme State Prosecutor in Prague has also indicted another person recently for expressing approval in the Czech Republic of Breivik’s terrorist attacks committed in the summer of 2011 in Oslo and on the island of Utöya. Two other people in the Czech Republic have been indicted for supporting terrorism because they praised the deaths of three Czech soldiers in Afghanistan.
