Thousands protest in Prague against public media funding reforms

Demonstrators allege Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his coalition’s proposed reforms pose a threat to press freedom.Published On 25 Oct 202625 Oct 2026Several thousand people have taken to the streets in Prague to protest against plans to change the funding system for the Czech Republic’s public media, accusing the government of stifling press freedom.On Sunday, protesters demanded the withdrawal of legislation seeking to abolish household licence fees and replace them with state budget allocations for public radio and television.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Czech public media staff strike, citing government threat to independencelist 2 of 4‘They try to break us’: Pro-Palestine activists in Czech custodylist 3 of 4Czech police detain Russian priest over ‘white substance’ findlist 4 of 4EU to sustain Radio Free Europe with emergency funding after Trump cutsend of listThe Czech lower house of parliament approved fast-tracking the bill in a rare overnight vote on Saturday after governing coalition lawmakers rushed to open the issue, limiting the opposition’s ability to engage in debate before the vote was held.The bill, proposed by the governing coalition led by bill...