Czech police soften security measures

Czech Police Presidium announced on Friday that the security measures which has been tightened in reaction to the Christmas attack in Berlin will be softened.

The reinforced police patrols will be gradually withdrawn from the streets and barriers will be removed from the places with high concentration of people.

However, the first degree of terrorism threat will remain in force in the country.

In reaction to the attack at a Christmas market in Berlin on Dec. 19 last year, Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec decided to tighten the security measures in the country. The number of police officers patrolling in the streets has increased by up to 50 percent compared to the normal level.

Czech Police Presidium spokesman Jozef Bocan said the number of patrolling police officers would start decreasing to the level before the Berlin attack as of 7:00 p.m. local time on Friday.

Selected potential targets in some regions will be patrolled by reinforced police officers at the weekend in view of public safety.

The Czech government approved the first degree of terrorism threat in the country since the attacks in Brussels last March.

Since then, several hundred soldiers along with police were deployed to jointly patrol in the streets for two months in the country. The joint patrols were withdrawn at the end of last May. Endit