What is Charter 77?
'''Charter 77''' (''Charta 77'' in [[Czech language|Czech]] and in [[Slovak language|Slovak]]) was an informal civic initiative in the [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic]] from 1976 to 1992. It is named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. The founding members and architects were [[Jiří Němec (philosopher)|Jiří Němec]], [[Václav Benda]], [[Ladislav Hejdánek]], [[Václav Havel]], [[Jan Patočka]], [[Zdeněk Mlynář]], [[Jiří Hájek]], [[Martin Palouš]], [[Pavel Kohout]] and [[Ladislav Lis]]. The charter was seen as a [[political crime]] by the communist regime.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.praguecoldwar.cz/rozborcharta.htm |title=Stanovisko generálního prokurátora ČSSR, předsedy Nejvyššího soudu ČSSR, ministra spravedlnosti ČSR a generálního prokurátora ČSR k 'Prohlášení Charty 77' |trans-title=Opinion of the Attorney General of Czechoslovakia, President of the Supreme Court of Czechoslovakia, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia to the 'Declaration of Charter 77' |language=Czech |first=Petr |last=Blažek |journal=PWSV |volume=3 |issue=1 |year=2006 }}</ref> After the 1989 [[Velvet Revolution]], many of its members played important roles in Czech and Slovak politics. ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Charter 77 signatories]] [[Category:Czech human rights activists]] {{multistub|history|politics|Europe}}