Prague is preparing for what could be one of the city’s biggest demonstrations in years as MPs consider a draft law that critics say echoes Russian-style restrictions on civil society.
Organizers of A Million Moments for Democracy say the move responds to a rapid erosion of democratic norms and are urging citizens to defend institutions, including NGOs, against what they call a rise in illiberal and authoritarian influence across Central Europe. The protest is set for Letna Plain, the site of the mass demonstrations that helped end Communist rule in 1989 and the location of a 2019 rally against the Babis government that drew nearly 300,000 people. Organizers hope to mobilize a similar turnout.
Campaigners warn the draft ‘foreign agent’ law would stigmatize legitimate international cooperation, chill civil-society work and grant state authorities broad supervisory powers with limited judicial safeguards. Under the draft, a wide range of organizations and individuals with foreign ties or foreign funding could be required to register as ‘foreign agents.’ Non-compliance could carry fines up to 15 million crowns (€612,000/$701,000) or penalties of up to 10% of annual revenue. Critics say the measure appears aimed at NGOs active in human rights and advocacy while conspicuously excluding foreign media — a loophole they argue could leave the country vulnerable to unchecked propaganda.
Simon Panek, executive director and co-founder of People in Need, the country’s largest NGO, rejected the principle of the proposed law, saying many provisions resemble Russia’s foreign agent legislation and that such tools are commonly used by authoritarian governments to control society. People in Need runs humanitarian, development and human-rights programs in more than 40 countries.
One of the bill’s drafters, Natalie Vachatova, has been described in Czech media as a pro-Russian activist and serves as a ‘free speech’ adviser to Prime Minister Andrej Babis. Babis has defended the proposal’s intent, saying NGOs that help the social system are welcome but political NGOs should not be allowed to engage in political struggle. Government MPs stress the published text is a draft for discussion. Radek Vondracek of Babis’s ANO party told Czech Television that in a globalised world the country is vulnerable to foreign actors and that the aim is transparency about who funds what, arguing foreign money can amplify pressure groups.
Legal experts and NGO advocates across Central Europe see parallels with measures introduced by populist governments in the region. Andras Lederer of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee warned that labeling civil-society organizations is a familiar tactic of illiberal regimes, intended to undermine credibility and depict NGOs as serving foreign interests; he described potential fines as a ‘Sword of Damocles.’ Similar laws have faced pushback: Hungary’s 2017 law was repealed and replaced after the European Court of Justice found it violated EU rules, and a ‘foreign agents’ style law adopted in Slovakia in June 2025 under Robert Fico’s government was later struck down by the Constitutional Court in December.
Slovak NGOs and legal specialists have called the Czech draft a copy of Russia’s legislation. Katarina Batkova of Via Iuris said the bill resembled the Russian model and pointed to similar measures elsewhere such as Georgia’s foreign agent act, which critics said targeted NGOs.
Opponents of the Czech draft are hoping a large turnout at Letna will persuade the government to rethink the proposals. Babis, who has in the past appeared uneasy about mass demonstrations, faced sustained public criticism after 2019; opponents argue a repeat of those numbers would send a strong message and could deter further attempts to curtail civil society.
Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan