The Russian Embassy in Prague has requested police protection for one of its diplomats after Czech media named the official as being part of an alleged assassination plot against local politicians.
Czech magazine Respekt reported last month that a suspected Russian intelligence agent had recently traveled to the Czech capital on a diplomatic passport with a suitcase containing ricin. The suspected intelligence agent was there to assassinate Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib and Ondrej Kolar, a politician, the publication reported, citing anonymous sources in Czech intelligence.
On Sunday, a Czech TV program identified the man as Andrei Konchakov, director of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Prague, suggesting he was an undeclared intelligence officer working under diplomatic cover.
The Russian Embassy said one of its staff members, whom it did not name, was the target of an “anti-Russian information campaign” and a “slander campaign.” It said Konchakov is now receiving threats.
Konchakov told a Czech website that he was carrying “disinfectant and sweets” in his suitcase, not poison, as had been alleged. According to his biography on the center’s website, Konchakov was born in Moscow in 1986 and has been in his current position since 2017.
Hrib told media in April that he was under constant police protection after the report that he was a likely target of a Russian poisoning plot. The Prague mayor said he police discovered a threat against him but did not provide further details.
“First of all, I must say that this is a risk to my life,” he told a Russian radio station. “At the request of the police, I can’t talk about the measures taken and how it was discovered that an attempt was being made on me.”
Czech law enforcement has not commented on the matter. The Russian Embassy denied the allegations.
Hrib and Kolar have been critical of Russia. The Prague City Council voted in February to rename the square in front of the Russian Embassy after the slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov. The move marked the fifth anniversary of Nemtsov’s death.
Kolar also played a role in the removal of a statue commemorating Soviet-era Gen. Ivan Konev, which led to protests from the embassy.
