The Czech Finance Ministry has been ordered by a district court to apologize to Deník Referendum for statements made by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who referred to the outlet as a 'journalistic sewer' during a parliamentary session in 2020. This insult came in response to an article suggesting that Deza, a company from the Agrofert holding, was suspected of causing pollution in the Bečva River. Additionally, the court ruled that the ministry must compensate the media outlet with 200,000 crowns for non-pecuniary damages. Both parties have retained the right to appeal the ruling, which highlights ongoing tensions between the government and independent media in the Czech Republic.