Šumava and the Rule of Law

The Regional Court in Plzeň has ruled that police acted illegally in forcibly removing activists who, among other measures, chained themselves to trees in the Šumava National Park to protest the culling of forest infested by the bark beetle. The verdict cannot be appealed. What should be examined further, however, are the actions of Czech Police president Petr Lessy, who came down on the wrong side of the law during the environmentalists’ blockade, which lasted over a month.