Former MP Jaroslav Škárka sentenced for hate speech about premature babies with disabilities

Former MP and Public Affairs Party (VV) chairman Jaroslav Škárka has received a suspended one-year prison sentence for hate speech about premature babies with disabilities and non-profit organisations that help them.

Škárka wrote on his Facebook page last year that premature babies with low birth weights were “undeveloped monsters with IQs of around 50” who “must be gotten rid of” and were useless to society apart from certain NGOs.

A Pilsen district court found Škárka guilty of inciting hatred against a group of people or seeking to restrict their rights and freedoms. He had faced up to three years in prison. In his defence, Škárka said he had consumed too much wine when he wrote the post.