A Czech named Jarý, who was condemned to twelve years' hard labour, came out with consumption contracted through the rigour of his imprisonment. Many others were reduced to such weakness through starvation that they had to be carried out of the prison.
[(c) Persecution of the Press]
Among the Czech journals suppressed in Bohemia at the beginning of the war, the following deserve to be especially mentioned:
České Slovo, organ of the National Socialist Party; the editors have been imprisoned. Čas ("Times"), organ of Professor Masaryk (Realist Party); the editors Dušek and Hájek were imprisoned. Samostatnost, organ of the State Right (Radical) Party; the editors were imprisoned or sent to the front.
The Národní Listy (Kramář's organ) was twice suspended, and in May, 1918, suppressed altogether because it "fostered sympathies for the Entente."
The Lidové Noviny, organ of Dr. Stránský (Moravian People's Party), was also several times suspended during the war.
All Socialist journals were suppressed except Právo Lidu and Rovnost.
According to the Wiener Zeitung, seventy-eight Czech journals were suspended during the months of April, May and June, 1916, alone. All Slovak newspapers were also suppressed.
As regards censorship, we need only mention that even speeches delivered in the Austrian Parliament were censored in the press. The sense of the speeches delivered by Allied statesmen was invariably distorted and declarations in favour of Czecho-Slovak independence were suppressed. Foreign newspapers were not allowed to be quoted; and the journals were forced to publish unsigned articles supplied to them by the police....
The Union of Czech Journalists declared on April 25, 1917