MP Filip Turek says he has fulfilled his apology to Hnutí Duha as ordered by the court; the organisation insists the obligation was not met and threatens further legal steps.
On 7 October 2026, Motoristé MP Filip Turek stated that he had fulfilled his obligation to apologise to Hnutí Duha and considers the matter settled. Hnutí Duha says the apology does not correspond to the ruling of the Municipal Court in Prague and that, unless a proper apology is published, it wants to proceed further by legal means.[1][2][3][4][5]
Statements and court proceedings
In April 2026 Turek wrote on Facebook that "several people died in the floods because the activist Duha prevented the construction of a necessary dam". He described the people working in the organisation as parasites who need to be exterminated.[2][4][5]
In June 2026 Hnutí Duha filed a lawsuit against Turek and also against Foreign Minister and Motoristé chairman Petr Macinka. Turek did not respond to the lawsuit within the set deadline, and the Municipal Court in Prague therefore ruled in his case without a hearing, by a judgment on acknowledgment of the claim. Macinka, who had called the movement a terrorist organisation, responded to the lawsuit in time. Court spokeswoman Kateřina Eliášová said on 5 October 2026 that a hearing can be expected in his case; its date has not yet been set.[1][2]
The apology and further statements
Under the court's decision, Turek was to send an apology to Hnutí Duha and publish it on a social network, where he is to keep it for at least seven days. He sent the apology through a data box on Friday 2 October 2026.[1][2][4] On Tuesday 6 October he published a video on Facebook in which he added further statements to the apology. He said, for example, that Motoristé had thrown "all its buddies" out of the Ministry of the Environment, and that the government had cut 700 million crowns from the movement for environmental education and subsidies. He also reproached the movement for wanting to "flood Czechia with wind turbines".[1][2][3]
Reactions
Turek wrote to the Czech News Agency: "In the video on Facebook I recapitulate exactly the words that the court imposed by its judgment. I have therefore fulfilled my obligation in exactly the prescribed manner." According to him, the video format gave the apology additional reach.[1][2]
On Tuesday Hnutí Duha said that Turek's appearance amused it, especially the passage about the threat of stopping "non-existent giant subsidies". In its view the post cannot be regarded as proper fulfilment of the imposed obligation, and the organisation still expects an apology to be published in line with the verdict. If that does not happen, it will proceed to enforcement through further legal steps.[1][2][4] Movement spokeswoman Eva Pernicová told the Czech News Agency that Turek had supplemented the apology with further attacks and that the court had ordered him to publish an apology, not to use the publication for further attacks on the movement.[5]
Related articles: Municipal Court in Prague, Seznam.cz
Apology to Seznam.cz
On 4 October 2026 MP Filip Turek apologised on Facebook to Seznam.cz for his April statement that Seznam employees look into users' e-mails. He made the apology on the basis of a decision of the Municipal Court in Prague, which, according to Seznam Zprávy, ordered Turek in mid-September to apologise and to pay court costs.[6][7]
Turek described the outcome of the dispute as a loss by default and added to the apology a statement on cuts to state media campaigns. According to its spokeswoman Aneta Kapuciánová, Seznam.cz does not regard the Facebook post as fulfilment of the obligation imposed by the court. The company wants to wait for the judgment to become final and, if Turek does not comply, to pursue the matter through enforcement.[6]
Seznam's reaction to Filip Turek's apology
Seznam.cz does not regard the apology that MP Filip Turek published on the evening of Sunday 4 October 2026 on his Facebook profile as fulfilment of the obligation imposed by the court. Spokeswoman Aneta Kapuciánová told Seznam Zprávy that the company is waiting for delivery of a written apology signed by Turek.[8][9][10]
According to the company's statement, Seznam will wait for the judgment to become final and, if Turek does not comply, will deal with the matter through enforcement.[8][9][10]
Chronology
- — MP Filip Turek declared his apology to Hnutí Duha, published under a court ruling, sufficient, while the organisation insists he has not fulfilled his obligation. ČTK / České noviny iROZHLAS
- — Member of Parliament Filip Turek apologised on Facebook on 4 October 2026 to the company Seznam.cz for his April statement about employees reading users' e-mails, an apology required by a ruling of the Municipal Court in Prague. Seznam Zprávy ČT24
- — The company Seznam.cz rejected MP Filip Turek's Facebook apology as fulfilment of the obligation imposed by the court, announcing it would wait for the ruling to become final and, if necessary, pursue enforcement. ČTK / České noviny Hospodářské noviny
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny
- iDNES.cz
- Novinky.cz
- Lidovky.cz
- Blesk.cz
- Seznam Zprávy — 4 October 2026
- ČT24 — 4 October 2026
- ČTK / České noviny — 4 October 2026
- Hospodářské noviny — 4 October 2026
- FORUM 24 — 4 October 2026