Klaus rejects veto against controversial media law

Czech President Václav Klaus has refused to veto a law that makes investigative journalism of any kind a punishable offence in the Czech Republic. In his response to the request of Czech chief editors Klaus wrote that protecting the interests of the general public was more important than protecting those of a professional group. The conservative Lidové noviny paper takes a composed view of the situation: "Let's try to see things from another angle. Klaus' intervention would only delay the enactment of the law. A strong lobby has the upper hand in parliament. Let the law go into effect and when one of our journalist colleagues is affected we will see in court what is indeed in the public interest. This law won't stand the test of a court trial, nor a trial before the European Court of Human Rights. …Lobbying in support of one's cause is imperative in this matter, but not edifying."

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