Thousands of protesters gathered across the Czech Republic on March 5 in opposition to the appointment of Zdenek Ondracek, a Communist Party lawmaker, as head of a police oversight committee, Reuters reported.

The Czech lower house voted on March 2 to appoint Ondracek to lead a committee that oversees the General Inspectorate of the Security Services, Czech media reported.

Ondracek had worked as a riot policeman before the Velvet Revolution, and is described as having admitted to hitting protesters, including women, with a baton.

Reuters described the appointment as the “first time that a Communist lawmaker has held such a post since the fall of communism.”

This footage shows protesters chanting at Wenceslas Square, Prague, on March 5. Credit: @natali_na_ty via Storyful