Thousands rally against justice minister

Around four thousand people gathered in the centre of Prague on Tuesday to demand the resignation of Justice Minister Marie Benešová, accusing her of undermining the independence of the country’s legal system.

Benešová, a close ally of President Zeman, is under fire for casting doubt on the investigation of the 2014 Vrbětice blasts, which has linked the explosions to Russian agents, and is  being held responsible for the recent resignation of the country’s Supreme State Attorney Pavel Zeman, who left his post citing pressure from the justice minister.

The demonstrators demanded that the naming of a new chief state attorney be postponed until after the next general election, set for October.