Police and lawmakers to investigate removal of visitors from lower house gallery

The internal affairs unit of the police force is investigating Friday’s incident in which visitors were removed from the public gallery of the Czech lower house. Interior Minister Lubomír Metnar said that the parliamentary security committee would also examine the circumstances at its next meeting on November 3.

A group of visitors was removed while MPs were debating a controversial bill to abolish license fees for the country’s public broadcasters. Some of them had been shouting and whistling at MPs during the session.

Metnar defended the police response, saying officers had called for order and warned visitors of possible consequences before removing them.

He added however that the incident needed to be clarified and reviewed.