Uncivil Society: Czech NGOs Stand Up to Populists

According to David Ondracka, TI's high-profile director in the Czech Republic, alleged slurs by Babis are all part of an attempt to "delegitimise the messenger" by labelling his NGO "corrupt".

EU audits have found that the billionaire premier is in conflict of interest regarding subsidies. These troubles threaten to strip Agrofert, the agrochemicals conglomerate he put into trust in 2017, of millions of euro.

The probes were sparked by complaints from TI that in reality Babis remains in control of the group, while he also directs the distribution of funding that flows from Brussels.

TI is now suing the prime minister for unfairly damaging its reputation. TI demands he apologise for a series of comments questioning its financing and relationships with various ministries, state-owned companies and other sponsors.

As the court case opened on January 13, the judge accepted 14 instances and decided the hearing will continue in February.

TI insists that its funding and accounts are fully transparent and can be publicly viewed.

"The worst thing in the world for an anti-corruption NGO is to have its integrity questioned," Ondracka told BIRN. "If such false statements become the norm then everyone becomes a target and the whole of civil society will become delegitimised."

Babis's lawyers say the premier was not putting forward a factual argument that TI is engaged in criminal activity, but rather expressing a personal view that the NGO accepts funding in return for promoting foreign or hostile interests. 

The prime minister's counsel also contends that TI has used similarly sharp rhetoric against Babis. It says it has labelled the oligarch a fraudster and a predator, and accused him of stealing from the state and committing...