Czech rightwinger to go on trial

The leader of the far-right Republican Party in the Czech Republic is going on trial today facing charges of inciting racial hatred.

The politician, Miroslav Sladek, is accused of having said during demonstrations against the Czech-German reconciliation treaty in January last year that not enough Germans had been killed in the Second World War.

The authorities say that for security reasons the trial is being held in a prison rather than a courtroom.

Supporters of Mr Sladek are reported to be planning a demonstration outside the prison.

A BBC correspondent in Prague says despite being vilified as a dangerous extremist, Mr Sladek's appeal among a small segment of the electorate is unchanged.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service