Military intelligence service: number of soldiers with far right links down

The number of Czech soldiers with connections to far right groups fell in 2009, according to an annual report issued by the country’s military intelligence service. It said it was monitoring a few dozen members of the country’s military it suspected of links to such organisations. Last year two Czech soldiers in Afghanistan were caught wearing Nazi symbols on their helmets. Another soldier was found to have helped establish a racist group called White Justice. The new report said more potential extremists were being weeded out at the recruitment stage, while greater vigilance on the part of army authorities was leading to soldiers with far-right beliefs travelling long distances from their bases to attend neo-Nazi rock concerts and other such gatherings during their free time.

Author: Ian Willoughby