The Czech Supreme Court has upheld a suspended prison sentence imposed on a former dissident who publicly wore clothing displaying symbols associated with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to Echo24, botanist Pavel Křivka walked through Pardubice in April 2024 wearing a black sweatshirt bearing a large white letter ‘Z’ and the Russian words “For Victory.”
Lower courts convicted him of publicly approving a crime against peace and sentenced him to six months in prison, suspended for two years. An appeal to the Supreme Court has now been rejected.
“Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental rights of a democratic society, but it has its limits,” court spokeswoman Gabriela Tomíčková said.
“According to the Supreme Court, public support or approval of the most serious international crimes exceeds the limits of expression which is entitled to full constitutional protection,” she added.
The court said a person does not need to make a speech or explicitly attempt to persuade others to commit an offense. Publicly displaying symbols can itself constitute a crime when their meaning is sufficiently clear.
Judges also rejected Křivka’s argument that the Z symbol does not appear on an official list of prohibited imagery. They ruled t
