The Fiala cabinet invoked the Czech Magnitsky act yesterday to impose national-level sanctions on Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, whose secular name is Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev. Foreign Min. Jan Lipavský, who proposed the move, said at the press conference after the cabinet meeting that he’s glad that the CR is returning to an assertive foreign policy that puts human rights first. In his press release later, he said that, “Gundyayev belongs on the sanctions list precisely because faith cannot be used to justify the atrocities committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine. Given the frequent public appearances of this person, all information is available in public sources. I can assure you that the evidence package is over one hundred pages long.” The CR has now gone beyond the EU to seize (in principle, if not in fact) the assets of a person without providing any concrete public evidence. It’s a milestone decision that affirms that the CR is a European leader in upholding human rights.

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