Psychiatrist Džamila Stehlíková need not apologize for remarks about Zeman’s health

Psychiatrist Džamila Stehlíková need not apologize for her remarks about the health of former president Miloš Zeman during his hospitalization in October of 2021, the Municipal Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday.  Assessing media footage of the then-president, Stehlíková expressed the view that the president's abstinence in the hospital had led to the onset of delirium tremens, among other things, and indirectly questioned his ability to perform his duties. The judge concluded that Stehlíková had proven the veracity of her judgments and that as an expert she had sufficient publicly available sources of information to assess Zeman's condition at the time. The judge also stressed that as a public figure  Zeman had to accept the fact that he was under public scrutiny. In addition to an apology, Zeman had also demanded CZK 1 million for the Fund for Children at Risk, which was also rejected by the court.