Czech Foreign Minister Macinka on initiative to strip Zelenskyy of his award: There is no legal way to do so
The Czech Foreign Minister, Petr Macinka, regards the initiative by the "Freedom and Direct Democracy" (SPD) coalition movement to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Czech Order of the White Lion as a political gesture on the part of that political force.
This is reported by Ceske Noviny, according to Censor.NET
There is no legal way to do this
"As far as I am aware, there is no legal way to strip someone of a state honour, except in cases where the person has been expressly found guilty of a criminal offence by a criminal court, the penalty for which also includes the loss of all benefits, privileges and honours," said Matsinka.
Given that there is no legal way of doing this, the minister believes that this is more of a political gesture on the part of the SPD.
The Czech Foreign Minister added that he himself would not have proposed anything of the sort.
What led up to it?
- In the Czech Republic, the coalition party ‘Freedom and Direct Democracy’ (SPD) is calling for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to be stripped of the country’s highest state honour — the Order of the White Lion.
- SPD MP Reichl said that the party intends to bring the matter of Zelenskyy’s medal before the coalition council.
- The Czech right-wing is following the example of Polish leader Karol Nawrocki, who on 19 June stripped Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle because he had named one of the units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces ‘after the Heroes of the UPA’.
- The office of Czech President Petr Pavel (Prague Castle) has rejected an initiative by the pro-Russian far-right party ‘Freedom and Direct Democracy’ (SPD) to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the country’s highest state honour — the Order of the White Lion
