Ex-Okamura party MP gets suspended sentence for spreading false alarm

A Prague district court handed a former MP, Lubomír Volný, a two-year suspended sentence for spreading false alarm on Wednesday. The conviction comes after Mr. Volný stated on social media that people could die because of a campaign of discrimination against the drug ivermectin.

He had promoted the anti-parasite drug, which is not registered in Czechia, as a treatment for Covid-19.

Mr. Volný was elected as a member of Tomio Okamura’s anti-EU Freedom and Direct Democracy but later quit and formed his own grouping. Police also investigated statements he made online following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including expressions of admiration for Vladimir Putin and calling Volodymr Zelensky a mass murderer.