Amnesty International criticises Czech Republic over arms exports

The human rights group Amnesty International has issued a report in which it criticises the Czech Republic for insufficient control of arms exports. It said weapons produced in the Czech Republic were sold to states such as Yemen and Sri Lanka with a history of diverting arms to other countries. For its part, the Czech Ministry of Defence said Amnesty International had not put forward a reasonable alternative. A spokesman said the organisation's only suggestion was to cease selling weapons altogether, which was "unrealistic". Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a statement on Friday saying it had not authorised any arms exports which contravened European Union regulations.