New report states 1968 invasion caused 108 deaths

The August 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops led to 108 deaths and around 500 serious injuries according to newly updated statistics from the Czech Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. The youngest victim was a two-year-old Slovak boy who was run over by a Soviet armoured vehicle; the oldest victim was an 82-year-old Czech woman. The Institute is charged with studying the crimes and general history of both the Nazi and Soviet occupations of Czechoslovakia. The new findings are helping to shed light on one of the darkest chapters in Czech history. According to the new data, the greatest number of people died when Warsaw Pact troops attacked an unarmed crowd in front of the Czech Radio building in the centre of Prague – some were shot, others were run over by invading tanks. The new detailed findings will help the relatives of victims to secure financial compensation totalling up to 150,000 crowns thanks to legislation passed in 2005.