The court ruled that ex-diplomat Drulák’s statement from the Ministerial Institute is invalid

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“ÚMV is aware of the decision of the appeals court, but we still insist that the organizational change was absolutely necessary to reduce expenses and stabilize the budget,” he commented on the verdict on his website institute.

“Despite the organizational change and other cost-saving measures, the ÚMV is unfortunately managing a slight loss, which it covers from the reserve fund. We consider it important to emphasize that the court’s decision is not based on Prof. Drulák objected to the expediency of the proceedings of the ÚMV,” added the institute.

The institute will decide on the next course of action only after receiving the written judgment. The founder of the institute is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Drulák’s position was canceled last January as part of a reorganization, due to savings. Before that, Drulák received two letters of reprimand from the director of ÚMV Ondřej Ditrych because of his statements, which he used to spread “conspiracy narratives”.

For example, he referred to Ukraine’s victory in the war with Russia as a “phantasmagoria” in the media, similar to how Russian propaganda blamed the continuation of the war on the West, which supplies Ukraine with weapons, and demanded an end to the supplies. However, it must be remembered that he identified Vladimir Putin’s regime as the aggressor.

Together with his lawyer, senator Jana Zwyrtek Hamplová, who is one of the personalities of the Czech disinformation scene, Drulák defended himself against the statement in court.

The ex-diplomat denied that he should lose his seat due to savings, but related it to his publicly presented views, which often diverge from official Czech foreign policy.

The employer will have to take the professor back and pay him back his salary for the entire period

Drulák’s lawyer Jana Zwyrtek Hamplová

The district court for Prague 1 sided with him in October last year, stating that the notice was invalid. This has now also been confirmed by the Prague Municipal Court, to which the dispute came after the institute’s appeal against the first-instance judgment.

“The dismissal that was given to Professor Drulák is invalid and it will be effective with the delivery of the judgment. The employer will have to take the professor back and pay him back his salary for the entire period,” commented pro Parliamentary Papers Drulák’s lawyer Zwyrtek Hamplová.

“For the professor, this is certainly a big not only legal, but also moral victory. The municipal court agreed with what the court of first instance said, that the dismissal was legally completely wrong, that there was no causal connection between the changes the institute wanted to make and the fact that it chose the professor to whom it was dismissed,” she added .

During his career, Drulák worked, for example, between 2017 and 2019 as an ambassador to France, he was the first deputy minister of foreign affairs to Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD), or between 2004 and 2013 he managed the aforementioned ministerial institute, from which he was dismissed last year. He also lectures at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen.