Prague Police have formally requested that the Chamber of Deputies lift the parliamentary immunity of Tomio Okamura, chairman of the right-wing Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, over an anti-immigration billboard campaign in the lead-up to regional elections last year.

According to police spokesman Jan Daněk and district prosecutor for Prague 1 Jan Lelek, the request— delivered on Tuesday morning — relates to accusations of inciting racial hatred.

“The police began criminal proceedings in August,” spokesperson Daněk announced, as cited by Echo24, noting that the official request for lifting immunity was forwarded to the secretariat of the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, who will then pass it to the relevant parliamentary committee.

The SPD erected large, provocative billboar