Czech Republic

A Czech court has banned the far-right Workers’ Party, the first such verdict since the fall of communism in 1989. The government had asked the Supreme Administrative Court to ban the fringe Workers’ Party because it said its activities are a threat to democracy. Judge Vojtech Simicek said Feb. 17 the party’s activities were racist and the link to neo-Nazis was “unequivocal.” Workers’ Party members have been accused of dozens of attacks on Roma or gypsies in the Czech Republic. The Workers’ Party secures about one percent of the vote in elections and is not represented in parliament. The party has said it will appeal the verdict. (Radio Netherlands)