Fewer hate crimes, growing online radicalisation, says Czech extremism report
Traditional extremist movements weakened in Czechia last year. But the Czech Interior Ministry in its new report warns that online radicalisation is becoming a growing security threat. The document has also sparked political debate by omitting the governing Freedom and Direct Democracy party, which featured in previous editions.
The report identifies online radicalisation as one of the country's most serious security challenges. While previous years were dominated by concerns over right-wing extremist networks, investigators in 2025 uncovered an Islamist-inspired online network whose members included several minors. According to the ministry, some of those involved had discussed or prepared violent acts, illustrating how extremist ideas can spread rapidly among young people through social media and encrypted messaging platforms.
The report also points to continuing tensions linked to Russia's war against Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, both of which continue to fuel hostility online. Yet it also places the problem in perspective. Police recorded 127 hate-motivated crimes in 2025—just 0.07 percent of the more than 170,000 criminal offences registered nationwide. The figures suggest that while the nature of extremist threats is changing, they still account for only a tiny fraction of overall crime in Czechia.
Why the omission of Freedom and Direct Democracy matters
The report has nevertheless attracted attention for another reason. Unlike previous editions, it no longer mentions the governing Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, despite repeated references to the movement in earlier reports. For Aleš Michal, a political scientist specialising in extremism at Charles University's Faculty of Social Sciences, the omission is difficult to reconcile with the report's own methodology.
"The report is not only about organisations that political scientists would classify as extremist. It should also include all actors that work with prejudice-motivated hatred. And in my view, SPD certainly still belongs in that category."
He argues that the distinction is crucial. The Interior Ministry's report itself explains that prejudice-motivated hatred is broader than extremism. It covers actors who may not seek to overthrow democracy but repeatedly target particular social, ethnic or religious groups through hostile rhetoric, stereotypes and disinformation.
Asked why SPD had disappeared from this year's report, Aleš Michal stops short of alleging political interference. But he says the timing inevitably raises questions, given that the party is now part of the governing coalition.
"I'm afraid that is a possible explanation. Considering which other actors still appear in the report, there are good reasons to think SPD was omitted deliberately."
From the political fringe to the mainstream
According to Aleš Michal, the debate extends well beyond Czech politics and reflects broader developments across Europe. Migration, he says, has become a defining political issue. Parties closer to the political centre have increasingly adopted tougher language in the hope of attracting voters who might otherwise support the radical right.
"Ideas that were once associated mainly with the radical right are gradually becoming part of the politics of more moderate parties. Many politicians believe tougher rhetoric will win voters back from the radical right, but there is very little evidence that this strategy actually works."
Instead, he argues, the main effect is to normalise language that previously existed on the political margins. The Interior Ministry's report reaches a similar conclusion from a security perspective. Rather than warning about growing numbers of organised extremists, it describes an increasingly fragmented environment in which online communities, conspiracy theories and prejudice-driven narratives can inspire individuals without any formal connection to extremist organisations. Traditional extremist organisations may be weaker than they were a decade ago, the ministry concludes, but radicalisation has increasingly moved into cyberspace, where it is often harder to detect and counter.
