Czech TV boss 'stable'

100,000 people demonstrated on Wenceslas Square, Prague

Doctors looking after the embattled new head of Czech public TV (CT) say his condition is stable after he was rushed to hospital early on Thursday morning.

Jiri Hodac, who is embroiled in a bitter dispute with rebel journalists, is said to have collapsed at his home, a day after tens of thousands of people had filled the streets of Prague calling for his resignation.

Medical staff say they are continuing their diagnosis of what happened to him, but that his life is not in danger.

His condition is really very serious

Jana Bobosikova

Staff at Czech television have launched a sit-in in protest at Mr Hodac's appointment, which they say was politically motivated.

The station's news director, Jana Bobosikova, said earlier that Mr Hodac had probably suffered a heart attack.

"Unfortunately I cannot give you any more details for the moment, but his condition is really very serious," she said.

One report said Mr Hodac may have been suffering from exhaustion.

The Czech Culture Minister, Pavel Dostal, had earlier threatened to bring charges against Mr Hodac, for blacking out an interview he gave to rebel journalists.

Mr Hodac is believed to have suffered a heart attack

Wednesday night's demonstration, in Prague's Wenceslas Square, was the largest since the Velvet Revolution which ended communist power in Czechoslovakia.

Mr Hodac, a former BBC Czech Service journalist who worked briefly as head of CT news last year, denies that he would make the station into a mouthpiece for any party.

Mr Dostal's threat to file criminal charges against him came in an interview seen by viewers on cable and satellite, but kept off terrestrial television by Mr Hodac's team.

The minister said he wanted to inform the public about the government's decision on Wednesday to change the law on how top broadcasting officials are appointed.

Parliament gets involved

On Thursday he submitted the charges to a lawyer's office for consideration.

Parliament is preparing to debate the government's proposed emergency legislation, in an attempt to resolve the crisis, which began with Mr Hodac's appointment on 20 December.

Culture Minister Pavel Dostal says he will bring charges against Jiri Hodac

Ministers have suggested that civic organisations should propose new appointees to CT's board of governors, giving political parties less control over the process.

The striking journalists say that though Mr Hodac's appointment is legal, he is too closely alligned to the main opposition Civic Democrat party, which is in a power-sharing agreement with the minority Social Democrat government.

They reject the government's proposal, saying it will take too long to come into force, and that only the immediate departure of Mr Hodac from the helm of CT offers a way out.

European Union

Twelve foreign journalists also showed their support for the strike on Wednesday, appearing in the background of a live report from CT's Brussels correspondent broadcast by the rebel staff.

EU authorities in Brussels said they were considering a call by the International Federation of Journalists for intervention in the Czech TV crisis.

The freedom of the media is one of the criteria by which the Czech Republic's application for membership of the European Union will be assessed.

Popular support

Protests also took place in the eastern cities of Brno and Ostrava.

In Prague speakers - including artists, actors, politicians and journalists - called for Mr Hodac to resign.

"It is very clear why we are here. The independence of television is at stake," said one protester.

There is widespread popular support for the journalists' stand, and more than 120,000 people have signed a petition backing their protest. Czech President Vaclav Havel has also expressed support for the strikers.