Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in the Czech capital Tuesday as demands intensified for the resignation of the new justice minister.
The protesters say the minister might compromise the legal system at a time when prosecutors have to decide whether to indict Prime Minister Andrej Babis over alleged fraud involving European Union funds.
Babis denies any wrongdoing.
Thousands of people attend a demonstration against Prime Minister Andrej Babis and the new Justice Minister Benesova in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday May 21, 2019. The protesters say the minister might compromise the legal system at a time when prosecutors have to decide whether to indict Prime Minister Andrej Babis over alleged fraud involving European Union funds. (Michal KamarytCTK via AP)
The justice minister has significant control over prosecutors. The protesters are angry that Marie Benesova was appointed shortly after police recommended Babis' indictment in April.
As a lawmaker, Benesova voted against a police request to strip Babis of parliamentary immunity to face investigation.
She's a lawyer and adviser to President Milos Zeman, Babis' close ally. Zeman has repeatedly criticized prosecutors.
Protesters and opposition members say she might try to influence his case, a claim that Benesova denies.
"We've had enough," and "Shame," the crowd chanted.
The fraud case involves a farm that received EU subsidies after its ownership was transferred from the Babis-owned Agrofert conglomerate of around 250 companies to Babis' family members. The subsidies were meant for medium and small businesses and Agrofert wouldn't have been eligible for them.
Later, Agrofert again took ownership of the farm.
"We are worrying about democracy," former NHL goaltender Dominik Hasek said in an address to the crowd. "We're worrying about an independent justice system."
Some of the protesters said Babis and his government should go.
"I think that the entire government should (resign)," said Eva Bernartova, a retiree who traveled from the southern town of Prachatice to join the demonstration.
"When you have the prime minister who faces criminal charges, how can he keep the government together? He's no example to follow."
After three previous protests packed Prague's Old Town Square, the demonstrations moved Tuesday to the city's much-bigger Wenceslas Square. They are set to spread across the Czech Republic next week.
The organizers also called on Babis to defend his steps in a television debate with them.
Babis, a populist billionaire, is a controversial figure because of a power-sharing deal with the Communist Party and the fraud charges. His position is also complicated by allegations he collaborated with the former communist-era secret police and accusations he's in a conflict of interests because he formally still controls his business empire whose ownership he was forced to transfer to two funds.
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A top European Union military officer said that a frigate that’s part of an EU miliary mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels on Thursday morning.
Austrian Gen. Robert Brieger, who is chair of the EU’s military committee, said that it would be crucial for the bloc to “conserve resources” over the long haul because the threat posed by Houthi attacks “will not disappear” due to its connection to the Israel-Hamas war.
“The task given to the military is simply to protect merchant ships and to show the public that the European Union is not willing to accept a terrorist organization will interrupt the freedom of movement at sea,” Brieger said.
Brieger said that he’s asking EU members to provide the necessary resources to the EU mission dubbed Aspides — Greek for “shields.”
He said that it’s the first time that the EU has launched a naval operation in a hostile environment that's twice the size of the 27-nation bloc, calling it a “litmus test” that the bloc will pass successfully.
The commander of an EU naval mission in the Red Sea, Greek Rear Adm. Vasilios Gryparis, wants to significantly increase its size to better defend against possible attacks by Houthi rebels based in Yemen. Nineteen of the 27 EU nations are involved in the mission, but only four frigates are patrolling an area twice the size of the bloc.
The EU mission was established in February to defend civilian vessels and doesn't take part in any military strikes. The southern part of the Red Sea is deemed a high-risk zone.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which control much of Yemen’s north and west, launched a campaign of drone and missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea in November. They have also fired missiles toward Israel, although those have largely fallen short or been intercepted.
The attacks have hit maritime trade to Egypt and Europe, with only around half the usual number of ships moving through the area. It’s added up to two weeks of transit time for vessels that want to avoid the Suez Canal, hiking transport costs and shipping insurance.
The rebels have described their campaign as an effort to pressure Israel to end the wear. The ships targeted by the Houthis, however, largely have had little or no connection to Israel, the U.S. or other nations involved in the war.
Their campaign has continued despite more than two months of U.S.-led retaliatory airstrikes.
General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
