Praha - State prosecutor Dušan Ondráček filed an appeal against the art group Ztohoven last week.
Six members of a Czech art-guerilla group called Ztohoven, which hacked into a public service TV program with a video montage displaying what looked like a genuine nuke explosion in June last year, were originally accused of inducing public panic.
The court in Trutnov, north of Prague, acquitted the group arguing they did not cause any damage nor did they sparked public panic. "It was not a criminal act," said Trutnov´s court.
The key witness psychologist Jan Lašek testified in favor of the artists. The rest of witnesses gave somewhat confusing testimonies that were often based on "second-hand" information, and/or what they learned in media.
The Ztohoven project was titled Media Reality and aimed at pointing out how reality could be manipulated by media.
Last year in December, the National Gallery awarded Ztohoven the so-called NG 333 prize for young artists for the Media Reality stunt. The 333 stands for the amount of money awarded to the winner - 333,000 CZK (equivalent to 25,000 euro).
The Ztohoven group have lately stopped talking to media but made an exception and one of them gave Aktuálně.cz an exclusive interview.
What do you say to the appeal?
I don't know. I am not familiar with practices of state prosecutors but it seems to me he has to have a proper reason now to appeal the court's decision because he must have been aware he could not succeed in what he had in the first hearing.
The prosecutor´s biggest argument was meant to be a testimony of a psychologist. But he [pszchologist Jan Lašek] said the nuke did not cause any panic with an individual, let alone a whole group of citizens.
The fact the state prosecutor appealed the acquittal may have a professional and career ambition background. Next time he may bring a new state prosecutor that will say the opposite. Or he may bring a group of panicking citizens, who knows? The prosecutor may go after us as long as it fits his ambitions.
Did you expect this?
In fact, we did. But honestly speaking, we believed that in the course of the trial common sense would win. But that is probably not the question.
Do you find 200 hours of public beneficial work that the state prosecutor proposes as an adequate punishment?
Not one hour, not a single minute of such work. The action itself was very beneficial for the society enough.
Isn't the trial a part of your art performance?
No, it has become a waste of time and money. I think the whole thing sparked so much furore that further media attention is not necessary but the state prosecutor´s appeal has caused it.
How much did you pay the lawyers? Is the financial award from the National Gallery enough?
It is premature to talk about it now. Obviously, the whole thing has not come to an end yet. The total costs are far from being over.
Will you take a bus to the next trial again?
Yes, probably we will. It saves money and is more environmentally friendly than if each of us should drive a car.
Has the action met its goal? What do you say about the media reality that the project has triggered?
First of all, it is important to note what media created with our case. The media´s hysterical tendencies and desire to cover scandals caused panic themselves when headlining articles like for example "Ztohoven terrified people with a nuke blast on Czech TV" or "Czech TV is counting the damage done after a nuclear blast". It was endless.
Let´s admit it - we do live in media reality. We are left to perceive the world via a journalist's views that are influenced by his or her employer who forces the journalist to write tabloids to achieve higher readership or viewership. So we could not wish for anything better than more proofs like this.
Are you working on anything else?
What if this "anything else" has been already taking place???
