Last night the police detained five people on suspicion of terrorist acts for involvement in the fighting in Eastern Ukraine on the part of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. No one has been charged yet. Public prosecutor Martin Bílý from Prague Public Prosecutor’s Office informed about it on the website today. According to several news servers, detained Czech citizens are suspected by criminalists that they went to fight in Ukraine on the side of pro-Russian separatists, or that they planned or organized such trips.
In the past, Czech courts have dealt with several cases related to the fight in Ukraine. The Czech Criminal Code defines a terrorist attack as an act committed against the Czech Republic or an international organization, but at the same time states that Czech law provides protection against terrorist acts and foreign states.
The conflict in Ukraine erupted in 2014 after the overthrow of the regime of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych and the subsequent Russian annexation of Crimea. Fighting between insurgents and loyal troops erupted in early April, claiming more than 14,000 lives since then. The Czech Republic does not recognize the self-proclaimed republics of pro-Russian separatists and insists that the territories controlled by them, as well as Crimea annexed by Russia, are an integral part of Ukraine.