Interior Minister: security checks at Prague Castle entrance should disappear

The evaluation of the security measures at the entrance to Prague Castle should be finished this April, Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said on Czech Television on Saturday. The evaluation is currently being carried out by the security services and the police. Once the results of the evaluation are known, it will be decided what form security measures at Prague Castle will take in the future.

Mr Rakušan said that he and the prime minister are in agreement that the area has to be controlled somehow, but big changes are needed. He stated that he is of the opinion that the security checks right at the entrance should simply disappear, as these cause long queues which in fact present a security risk as they could become the target of an attack.

Checks at the entrances to Prague Castle were introduced in the summer of 2016 amid fears of terrorist attacks. According to critics, the measures were unnecessary. At the time, the castle defended the measures by saying they were necessary to ensure the safety of tourists.

The abolition of the controls was discussed a little more than a year ago. At that time, according to the minister, the security forces were in favour of removing them. However, the situation changed when Russia invaded Ukraine.