Okamura will not attend meeting discussing his extradition for prosecution

Tomio Okamura, the chairman of the opposition Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD), will not attend the meeting of the parliamentary mandate and immunity committee on Tuesday, which will consider the police's request for his extradition for criminal prosecution. Okamura told ČTK on Sunday that he does not intend to defend the party’s electoral campaign last year, nor to legitimise the "political farce" of the ruling coalition in front of representatives of other political parties.

The police suspect Okamura of inciting hatred against a group of people in connection with last year's SPD billboard campaign. One of the posters depicted a dark-skinned man with a bloody knife and a bloodied shirt, along with the text "Deficiencies in the healthcare system will not be solved by imported 'surgeons'". This campaign before the regional elections targeted the European Union's migration pact.