Czech Journalists' Union condemns Foreign Ministry over reporter exclusion

The Czech Journalists' Syndicate has condemned the Foreign Ministry's treatment of Deník N reporter Zdislava Pokorná as discriminatory after she was barred from attending Foreign Minister Petr Macinka's press conference for the second time on Friday.

The union said the ministry should apologise and ensure equal access for all media. Otherwise, it called on Czech media to boycott the ministry's press events in solidarity.

During the briefing, Macinka said the ministry would also hold press conferences for “alternative” media and conspiracy blogs, inviting Deník N to those instead.

The union's chairwoman, Ivana Šuláková, said the ministry had discriminated against the reporter and the news outlet, arguing that by law public institutions must provide equal access to information to all legally operating media.