Democracy crumbling: Now Czechs face substantial jail time if they show support for Russia on social media

Western democracies continue to trend authoritarian, with leaders grasping at any excuse to crack down on their citizens.

For nearly two years, Western leaders used the China COVID-19 virus as their vehicle for tyranny, shutting down their economies, making citizens more dependent on government largess, and forcing them to take a dangerous, experimental vaccine that kills and maims.

Now, some ‘democracies’ are using Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an excuse to terrorize their citizens even further, such as the Czech Republic.

There, citizens who support Russia online face jail sentences of up to three years, according to a report by Summit News.

Czech Attorney General Igor Stríž announced in a press release that it was “necessary to inform citizens that the current situation associated with the Russian Federation’s attack on Ukraine may have implications for their freedom of expression.”

The limitations are being imposed under the umbrella of criminal code measures that make it a crime to approve of a criminal offense or deny, approve of, or justify genocide.

“[F]reedom of speech also has its limits in a democratic state governed by the rule of law,” asserted Stríž, further noting that anyone who “publicly (including at demonstrations, on the Internet or on social networks) agreed (accepted or supported the Russian Federation’s attacks on Ukraine) or expressed support or praised the leaders of the Russian Federation in this regard, they could also face criminal liability under certain conditions.”

So really, there is no right to free speech because it’s an either/or proposition; either citizens have it at all times or they don’t.

In addition to the attorney general, the official Czech state police website also revealed officers were “closely monitoring” content regarding “dozens of comments in internet discussions approving the Russian invasion and the activities of the Russian army.”

And Radio Prague International reported that anyone who is found to be in violation of these harsh new anti-free speech and anti-free expression rules could be put in prison for as long as three years, though it may actually be tough to bring charges.

Breitbart’s Jack Montgomery asked if “someone might be open to prosecution for merely questioning NATO’s eastward expansion, the West’s decision to back the Euromaidan coup in 2014, or the extent to which claims the Ukrainian government has mistreated civilians in Donbas might be true.”

Meanwhile, according to Fox News, Russian citizens are reportedly fleeing their own country as rumors spread that President Vladimir Putin is preparing to declare martial law.

“Earlier this week, Russia’s official censorship body issued guidance telling news networks to use only ‘trusted’ sources under penalty of closure, which led to the shutdown of two independent news networks, including Dozhd TV – known in English as Rain TV,” the outlet reported.

“Tikhon Dzyadko, the overnight chief editor of Dozhd, wrote on Telegram on Mar. 2 that he was fleeing the country over fear for his life, saying that it is ‘obvious that the personal safety of some of us is now under threat,'” the report continued.

In an interview with the network, former President Donald Trump said the Russian invasion could wind up triggering World War III.

And the former president also opined that the Biden White House will need to “do a lot more than just sanctions” to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin. But, Trump also said that the war should “never have happened.”

“It is a horrible thing. It would never have happened under any circumstance, and it is what it is,” Trump said. “But there’s great bravery being shown, and I think they’re doing one hell of a job—much more so than anybody would have thought possible.”

Asked if he had a message for Putin, Trump answered flatly: “I have no message.”

“I just think it’s a shame that this is going on. It’s something that should not be going on,” Trump said.

“Thousands of people, I mean, this can lead to much bigger than this one area,” Trump warned. “This could lead to a lot of other countries and can lead to world war.”

He then said, “you never know how it starts, in a world war.”

Sources include:

FoxNew.com

Summit.news