The Million Moments for democracy group has painted a red line in front of the Justice Ministry in Prague as a symbol of the “democratic area” that Justice Minister Pavel Blazek is allegedly crossing with his conflicts of interest. The group is calling on Blazek to resign or be sacked by Prime Minister Petr Fiala. Blazek has faced criticism recently for his requests for information into cases of flat trafficking in Brno, which the Million Moments group argues threatens public trust in politicians.

Blazek has denied any conflict of interest and accused the group of working with false information. The Ministry of Justice has released answers to questions asked by MPs during a question session in the Chamber of Deputies, with a spokesman noting that the ministry requests cooperation from judges and prosecutors when answering questions from MPs, which has been an established practice for several years.

Fiala has stated that he sees no reason to sack Blazek, arguing that the minister acted in compliance with his duties when he asked for the information. However, representatives of the Million Moments group argue that members of the government coalition are downplaying Blazek’s conflict of interests.

The group suspects Blazek of trying to influence the Czech judicial system and judges, and links ministerial conflicts of interest and the government’s poor attitude to citizens as contributing factors to Czechs aligning with populist and extremist movements. Prior to moving into national politics, Blazek was the coordinator for ODS in Brno, where he faced allegations of conflict of interest and back-room dealing.

According to Seznam Zpravy, in the past month Blazek addressed four requests for information to public prosecutors in connection with the Brno flat trafficking case, in which acquaintances of Blazek are implicated. Transparency International has suggested that Blazek’s requests for information may be an attempt to disrupt the investigation.

The Million Moments group has previously organized large-scale protests over the appointment of Marie Benesova as Justice Minister in 2019, and protests against Benesova in 2021 over the departure of Supreme Prosecutor Pavel Zeman from office.

Article by Prague Forum