Czech Teacher Charged for Denying the War in Ukraine

Criminal investigators charged Martina Bednářová, a teacher from an elementary school in Prague 6, because of her statements during a Czech language class last April.

At the time, the teacher, who has now been dismissed, claimed to the eighth-grade pupils, among other things, that there was no war conflict in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and that Ukrainians were killing the Russian population in the now-occupied Donbass.

“In this case, on January 13, the criminal prosecution of one natural person was initiated for actions that were qualified as the offense of denying, questioning, approving and justifying genocide. The investigation will continue in the matter,” Aleš Cimbala, spokesman for the Prague city prosecutors, told Práva yesterday.

He added that the accused faces six months to three years in prison in the event of an indictment and subsequent trial.

“ČT1 belongs to a group of media that are tied to the billionaire Soros. And we know exactly who it is payable to,” the teacher pointed out in the 18-minute audio recording. She also stated in the recording that since 2014 Ukrainians have been killing the Russian population in Donbass.

“Those Russians were killed in that region of Donetsk and Luhansk, liquidated just because they were Russians. While they were actually liquidated by actually Ukrainian Nazi groups in such a way that the door to the barrack was slammed, the barrack was set on fire, people were flayed alive, children were murdered, etc. And this has been going on constantly since 2014,” said the teacher.

Martina Bednářová

At the same time, Russian propaganda spreads the same claims as part of its effort to justify the attack on Ukraine. The Czech teacher denied wrongdoing or spreading lies, saying that she only presented facts to the pupils.

“I perceive an alarming denial of all democratic principles and freedoms in this state and an unprecedented restriction of speech and opinion,” she wrote.

In the letter, she also requested the punishment of the student who made the recording. According to her, he acted in violation of school rules.

Bednářová filed a lawsuit against the school last summer, claiming that her resignation was invalid.