News

Police will tighten security at next week’s Prague Pride festival in the wake of a thwarted plot to kill participants at the Rainbow Pride march in neighbouring Slovakia two weeks ago, Denik N reported. The Interior Ministry is preparing to deploy riot police, anti-conflict teams and patrols with long guns at the more than 200 events held in different parts of the Czech capital in the course of next week. Thousands of people, including many participants from abroad are expected to take part in Prague Pride. The festival will culminate with the traditional rainbow parade in the streets of Prague next Saturday.

The 94th Jiráskův Hronov International Amateur Theatre Festival begins Friday in Hronov, Eastern Bohemia. The festival will feature over 100 performances by amateur and professional theater groups, as well as concerts, lectures, workshops, discussions, and exhibitions. The festival flag will be raised, and the first performance will start Friday evening, with the official opening ceremony planned for Saturday. The event is recognized by the International Amateur Theater Association as one of the world's most significant amateur theater festivals.

Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist who lived in the Czech Republic and worked for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was released from a Russian prison on Wednesday within a large-scale prisoner swap between Russia, the U.S. and several European countries, the International Press Institute reported.

Kurmasheva, a mother of two, was detained by the Russian authorities on a visit to her parents last October and sentenced to six-and-a-half years in jail for failing to register as a foreign agent.

In addition, Russian authorities reportedly freed activists and other regime critics such as Vladimir Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin, and Sasha Skochilenko. According to the International Press Institute at least 15 political prisoners were set free from Russian prisons within the swap.

The Czech National Reference Laboratory has confirmed rabies in a bat which bit a person last week. The incident happened in the North Moravian city of Ostrava. Transmission of this specific rabies virus variant to humans is rare and the bitten person is under medical supervision. Nevertheless, the public is advised to avoid contact with suspicous acting wild animals and report them to the authorities. This is the sixth rabies case in bats in Czechia. The last rabies case in other animals was in 2002.