Czech President Petr Pavel taken to hospital after injuring himself riding motorcycle

Czech President Petr Pavel has been injured in a motorcycle accident, his office said.

“The president was injured while riding his motorcycle," Mr Pavel's office said on social media platform X. "The injuries are not serious but will require a short observation in the hospital."

The office said it would provide more information when available.

Police said they would not be investigating because the accident happened on a closed course and was not a road accident.

Mr Pavel, a 62-year-old former Czech army chief and high-level NATO official, took office last year and has maintained his hobby of motorcycling since then.

He is believed to be currently racing a BMW R1200 GS and has previously found himself in trouble over this hobby.

Last year, the president had to publicly apologise after riding a bike without a helmet.

It comes after the Czech leader suffered an injury while firing a weapon at a shooting range in April.

The ex-general suffered a minor laceration near his eyebrows while shooting with a rifle equipped with an optic, his office said at the time.

The former high-ranking Nato official was elected as the Czech Republic's president in March 2023.

After his inauguration, he rode a motorbike to the state of Bavaria in Germany, sharing the trip on social media.

“The sun, the wind at your back and the strengthening of neighbourly relations with your Bavarian friends. Why not combine the pleasant with the useful," Mr Pavel wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The Czech presidency is largely a ceremonial role with limited powers as the day-to-day business of government.