Police sued over clampdown on neo-Nazi rally

Police involved in the clampdown on a neo-Nazi rally in Prague city centre a fortnight ago are to face legal action. Prague lawyer Klara Slamova has lodged a criminal complaint against the police force which detained several hundred neo-Nazis on their way to a protest in the city’s Jewish quarter on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, a Nazi pogrom. Mrs Slamova has also brought charges against Prague Mayor Pavel Bem and his deputy Rudolf Blazek. She maintains that city councillors abused their power when they banned the neo-Nazi march, and that police curtailed protestors’ personal freedom when they clamped down on the rally. The protest took place on November 10th, and led to nearly 400 arrests – both far-right extremists and anarchists were detained.