A Czech teacher, Martina Bednarova, received a suspended prison sentence for allegedly defending Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
A Czech court has sentenced a former teacher to a suspended seven-month prison term for expressing pro-Russia views during a lesson, according to local news sources.
Ceska Justice reports that Martina Bednarova is also barred from teaching for three years and must take a media literacy course. The court stated Bednarova abused her position by giving students “misleading information.”
The incident took place in April 2022, soon after the Ukraine conflict escalated, during a Czech language class at a Prague elementary school. Media reports state that Bednarova called Russia’s military action in Ukraine a “justified way of resolving the situation” and questioned the accuracy of Czech television’s reporting.
She also claimed “Nazi Ukrainian groups” had been killing Russians since 2014, apparently referencing Ukrainian nationalist groups like Azov, which Moscow accuses of committing atrocities against ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine – an account disputed by Kiev and Western governments. Students recorded the class, which led to her dismissal after school officials were notified.
Judge Eliska Matyasova argued that Bednarova was not simply sharing personal opinions but presenting false information in a classroom setting where students couldn’t challenge it. Bednarova, who plans to appeal, maintained that her comments were part of a media literacy lesson and that the case was politically motivated. This verdict is not yet final.
The District Court had initially acquitted Bednarova twice, with an appeals court supporting the second decision based on free speech principles. However, in January, the Supreme Court overturned these rulings and ordered a new review to determine if her actions constituted a criminal offense.
Prague has adopted a strong anti-Russia stance, especially following the Ukraine conflict, and has become a key supporter of Kiev.
In its 2023 human rights report, the Russian Foreign Ministry described the Czech government’s actions as “Russophobic” and voiced concerns about freedom of speech in the country.
It also expressed concerns regarding the media environment in the Czech Republic, citing what it perceived as a growing anti-Russia bias.
Czech education reforms will phase out Russian as a second language by 2034, limiting students to German, French, or Spanish. As of late 2023, over 40,000 Russian citizens resided in the country, making them the fourth-largest foreign population.
The Czech Republic, formerly part of communist Czechoslovakia and a Soviet-aligned Eastern Bloc member, gained independence in 1993 after the 1989 Velvet Revolution and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since then, the country has removed or modified hundreds of Soviet-era monuments, with further removals occurring after the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev and the escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
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