President Zeman bestows state decorations on 35 people

Czech President Miloš Zeman bestowed state decorations on 35 people, on the occasion of the national holiday marking the establishment of the independent Czechoslovak state in 1918. At a special ceremony on Wednesday evening, the president bestowed the top Czech decoration, the Order of the White Lion, to the late RAF pilot Josef František. The Order of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, in memoriam, was given to Frantisek Kriegel, the only Prague Spring leader who refused to sign the Moscow protocol in 1968 legitimising the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia. The Medal of Heroism was given to Petr Vejvoda, a 16-year-old student who was killed by a mentally ill woman when defending a girl in a secondary school in Žďár nad Sázavou. Other recipients included former football international Pavel Nedvěd or the late Karel Weirich, a Czech journalist who saved the lives 200 Czechoslovak Jews in Italy during WWII.

Author: Ruth Fraňková