Sobotka criticises police actions during Xi visit

The Czech prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, has criticised the police’s actions during a recent visit to Prague by the Chinese president. Speaking in Wednesday’s edition of the newspaper Denik, Mr. Sobotka said he did not regard some of the force’s operations as reasonable or acceptable and described the removal of Tibetan flags as excessive. Earlier this week police president Tomáš Tuhý apologised for the police’s inspection of a Tibetan flag at the FAMU film school. However, President Miloš Zeman on Tuesday praised the force’s handling of Xin Jinping’s visit. Mr. Sobotka said he expected the minister of the interior, Milan Chovanec, to inform the cabinet about the results of an inquiry into the police’s actions.