[Associated Press, 7 July] An appeals court in the Czech Republic has ordered a retrial for seven artists who hacked into a national television weather broadcast in June 2007 to show a fake nuclear explosion on the horizon of a live shot of the Czech mountains. Members of the Prague-based Ztohoven art group admitted to tampering with equipment at public broadcaster Czech Television, adding that the project aimed to demonstrate how easily reality can be manipulated by the media. However, Czech Television called the stunt "improper" and said it could have scared many people. In March, the artists were acquitted of spreading false information, but the state prosecutor appealed the verdict. An appeals court in Hradec Kralove overturned the decision last week. A date for the new trial has yet to be set. If found guilty, the artists face a maximum jail term of three years. In December, Prague's National Gallery awarded the Ztohoven group the new NG 333 prize for young artists, worth some $21,750, for the project. On its website, the group says of its stunt: "On 17 June 2007, our group invaded media and television territory, intruded and impeached its trueness as well as its credibility."
Footage of the stunt can be viewed on YouTube.
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