Czech Republic bans promotion of communism
(MENAFN) The Czech Republic has revised its criminal code to ban the promotion of communism, equating it legally with Nazi ideology. This new legislation was signed into law on Thursday by President Petr Pavel, who is notable for his past membership in the Communist Party.
Under the amendment, individuals who “establish, support or promote Nazi, communist, or other movements which demonstrably aim to suppress human rights and freedoms or incite racial, ethnic, national, religious, or class-based hatred” face prison sentences ranging from one to five years.
The change comes after advocacy by the Czech government-funded Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. Michael Rataj, a co-author of the amendment, described the previous distinction between Nazism and communism as “illogical and unfair.”
“Part of Czech society still perceives Nazism as the crime of a foreign, German nation, while communism is frequently excused as ‘our own’ ideology just because it took root in this country,” Rataj remarked.
Historically, the Czech Republic emerged as an independent state in 1993 following the Velvet Revolution of 1989, ending its era as communist Czechoslovakia within the Soviet-aligned Eastern Bloc. President Pavel has called his own Communist Party membership a mistake.
The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) has strongly condemned the amendment, describing it as politically motivated. The party, part of the Stacilo alliance, currently polls near the threshold needed to regain parliamentary seats in the upcoming October 2025 elections.
“This is yet another failed attempt to push KSCM outside the law and intimidate critics of the current regime,” the party said in a statement.
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