Court investigates proposal to ban far-right party

The Supreme Administrative Court has started deliberations on a government proposal to ban the far-right Worker’s Party. The court hearings are expected to last for four days and hundreds of policemen will be asked to give testimony. This is the second time that the court is looking into a government proposal to ban the far-right party. A previous attempt in 2009 was rejected on the grounds of lack of evidence. According to the government, the Worker’s Party is a threat to democracy and is offensive towards minorities.

The government’s prosecuting attorney told the court on Monday that the party had moved from verbal insults to physical violence against minorities who often had to be protected by the police and likened some of its marches to pogroms. He said the party’s main objective was to spread racist and xenophobic views. Head of the Worker’s Party Tomáš Vandas called the process political. A verdict is expected as early as Thursday.