The Czech Chamber of Deputies voted to lift the immunity of Freedom and Democracy Party leader Tomio Okamura, allowing police to proceed with criminal charges related to his party’s controversial election posters.

Okamura is suspected of inciting hatred and discrimination.

In the runup to last year’s elections to the European Parliament, the SPD billboards sparked controversy.

One targeting the EU migration pact featured a man with dark skin wielding a bloody knife and wearing a bloody shirt along with the message: “Deficiencies in health care can’t be solved by importing ‘surgeons’. ‘Stop the EU Migration Pact!’”

The SPD chair claims the ad was “truthful” and a reaction to Government moves which he believes will mean migrants will start “flooding” the Czech Republic. He also said he considers the affair to be an attack on freedom of speech and an attempt to silence him.

Because one report of a crime was filed against the ad by a TOP 09 politician, Jiří Pospíšil, Okamura said it was an attempt to “criminalize” the opposition. Another SPD ad in last year’s campaign featured a graphic of two Romani boys smoking cigarettes.

Artificial intelligence had obviously been used to generate the image. The message read: “They say we should go to school, but our folks couldn’t care less…” and “Welfare just for families whose children attend school!”

Okamura has repeatedly rejected the idea that the SPD is racist or xenophobic, calling the ads “allegories”.

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