The Czech Centre for Human Rights and Democracy is proud to present a new issue of the Czech Republic Human Rights Review examining the year of 2019. Together with our members and trainees, we have prepared a total of 11 articles that are related to the Czech Republic.

To start the Review, we are pleased to publish a very special story. In 2019, we commemorated the 80th anniversary of Sir Nicholas Winton’s trains, which saved the lives of 669 Jewish children on the brink of World War II from the occupied territory of Czechoslovakia. We asked one of the rescued children, John Karlik, to share his memories.

Aneta Frodlová discusses whether it is possible under Czech law to complete an artificial insemination process after the death of a husband. Furthermore, the concept of same-sex marriage is currently an important issue in the Czech Republic, and therefore, Gabriela Štvrtňová reviews this in an article. 

Additionally, Zdeněk Nevřivý presents a judgment of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic concerning the Brioni Boutique Hotel in Ostrava. The hotel required Russian clients to sign a document saying they disagreed with the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.

In November 2019, only 30 years after the Velvet Revolution, an anti-government demonstration by the group, Million Moments for Democracy, was held in Prague at Letná hill. According to estimates, 283,000 citizens attended the demonstration, making it the largest demonstration since the fall of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Eva Dokoupilová explains what led to this event.

We wish you an enjoyable reading.