Czech Centre for Human Rights and Democracy
The Centre is an independent academic institution monitoring human rights developments both domestically and worldwide, issuing a monthly Bulletin, as well as organizing conferences.
Portugal and Italy are currently moving forward with a new bill that would ban people from covering their faces in public spaces. Both these proposals clearly follow the famous “French model” from 2010. While the bills include many exceptions, it raises important questions about how Europe balances such bans with religious freedom.
In City and County of San Francisco v. EPA (2025), the US Supreme Court addressed the scope of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority to regulate the discharge of pollutants into water. Although the court ruled in favor of the city of San Francisco, the decision was not unanimous.
The Security Information Service Annual Report for 2024 highlights ongoing threats from Russia and China. According to Czech counterintelligence, the risks are primarily concentrated in the areas of influence operations, cybernetics, and sanctions evasion. Intelligence officers also warn against new methods used by hostile actors, such as the recruitment of so-called “telegram agents”, and point to a disturbing trend of radicalization among young people in the online environment.
The case of Vahidullah Khan, an Afghan soldier who died immediately after being interrogated by Czech and American special forces, finally reached trial after almost seven years. The Regional Public Prosecutor’s Office in Brno drew up an extensive indictment of four Czech soldiers suspected of, among other things, extortion, disobeying orders, and failure to provide help. However, the case was not concluded by a proper trial, but instead by presidential abolition.
You might have already read about the case concerning restraint in the form of the so-called Crucifixion of Jesus Christ several times from the Center. Now, however, the case has (finally) reached the Constitutional Court. Thus, the Constitutional Court had another opportunity to express its opinion on the scope of the constitutional rights of victims of crime and injured parties, as well as on its competence to remedy any errors in this regard.
A decision of the European Court of Human Rights can lead to a retrial before the Constitutional Court as well. The case of A. B., a victim of sexual violence who did not succeed before the Czech authorities, shows how the intervention of the international court opened the way to a re-evaluation of the constitutional complaint. The Constitutional Court subsequently acknowledged the seriousness of the errors made by law enforcement and criminal justice and reopened the case.
Retrial before the Constitutional Court
The decision on the type of prison in which a convicted person will be placed is not merely a matter of public interest or prison administration but an issue with a strong constitutional dimension. In a recent judgment, the Constitutional Court addressed this matter when it annulled a decision to transfer a prisoner with mental health problems to a prison with a stricter regime.