Prague teacher Martina Bednářová, who faced indictment for denying Russian war crimes in Ukraine, will not be punished. The Court of Appeals upheld her acquittal and rejected the appeal of the public prosecutor’s office, which originally requested an eight-month suspended sentence and a five-year ban on teaching, training or other work with children for the former Czech woman. The Czech woman, who discussed the topic of the Russian invasion with the eighth graders in the style lesson, insists on her statements.
“The defendant cannot be viewed as Master Jan Hus, who was ultimately burned at the stake for his views. But as far as the criminal law level is concerned, we believe that her actions did not reach such a level that it could be punished by the means of criminal law,” said Hana Chaloupková, chairwoman of the appeals panel of the Prague Municipal Court. She added that “a lot of things” can be blamed on the defendants in terms of ethics and pedagogy. However, after the evidence has been provided, it cannot be concluded that the teacher denies any specific war crimes or crimes against peace. She thus did not fulfill the factual essence of the crime in question, the judge explained.
