News

Edited CCTV footage from Czech pizzeria where Romani man died is broadcast, questions remain unanswered

30.10.2016 21:47 The pizzeria in the Czech town of Žatec where a young Romani man died on 18 October has provided CCTV footage of the incident to the commercial Prima television station, which broadcast some of it on Saturday evening. The management of the restaurant claims it is doing its best to calm the situation by releasing the images.  full story

President of Bulgarian Helsinki Committee assaulted in Sofia, says it was retribution for his human rights work

28.10.2016 16:05 The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) reports that Krasimir Kanev, the president of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), an independent NGO that protects human rights, was assaulted in Sofia yesterday. Kanev has told the BIRN he was attacked around 9:30 AM in front of the Radisson Hotel by two men he did not know who punched him in the face and stomach before fleeing the scene.  full story

Slovak Parliament bans ultra-right party's "train patrols"

28.10.2016 15:26 News server Novinky.cz reports that the Slovak Parliament has approved an amendment to the law on the railways which means that as of February 2017 the only persons empowered to supervise public order on trains and at train stations are the Slovak Police and persons designated as security by a particular rail carrier. The law is a response to patrols by the nationalist "People's Party Our Slovakia" (LSNS), chaired by Marián Kotleba, who have been "patrolling" trains in the country whenever they like since April.  full story

Objects fly over Czech Police line as Roma insist on their right to honor dead man

28.10.2016 11:12 After yesterday's assembly in the Czech town of Žatec to honor the death of a Romani man there last week was officially dispersed, organizer Jan Čonka called on all of the Romani people present to peacefully return to their homes. Roughly half of the 500 participants, however, walked to the Panamera Pizzeria to lay flowers and light candles at the improvised memorial to the deceased that has been there since the incident.  full story

Hundreds around Czech Republic honor memory of dead Romani man, right-wing extremists assemble at site of his death, riot police deployed

28.10.2016 9:37 Yesterday in the Czech town of Žatec approximately 500 people gathered to honor the memory of the Romani man who died there last week after a conflict in a local pizzeria. Most of the predominantly Romani crowd then proceeded to the site of the unfortunate incident.  full story

Czech Republic: Non-Romani demonstrators prevent Romani mourners from lighting candles at site of death, riot police prevent clashes

27.10.2016 19:07 In the Czech town of Žatec today at 15:00 approximately 500 Romani people assembled for a memorial gathering to honor the young Romani man who died last week under circumstances that have yet to be fully officially explained in a local pizzeria. After several speeches were given on the main square, the official assembly was dispersed.  full story

Czech talk show host uses YouTube to explain TV Prima's contract with him to TV Prima and the public

27.10.2016 15:57 Czech talk show host Jan Kraus has published a brief video on YouTube explaining that the contract he has with TV Prima clearly does not allow him to broadcast an episode of his show online before it has been broadcast by the TV Prima station. He has taken the unusual step after the TV Prima management issued contradictory statements regarding why it did not broadcast the most recent episode of the program yesterday.  full story

LIVE BROADCAST of memorial gathering in Žatec

27.10.2016 15:18 LIVE BROADCAST  full story

TV Prima to broadcast talk show episode today - will it be in its entirety?

27.10.2016 13:48 According to information reported by the news server Mediahub.cz, the episode that was to have been broadcast yesterday of the Jan Kraus talk show on TV Prima will be broadcast today. It is, however, possible that it will not be broadcast in its entirety and that its opening segment will be edited out.  full story

Emil Ščuka asks not to be considered for Roma Spirit Award in the Czech Republic

27.10.2016 13:16 The Director of the International Conservatory and the Divadlo v Korunní theater in Prague, Emil Ščuka, has asked not to be considered for this year's Roma Spirit Award in the individual category. He has not said why.  full story

Scandal as TV Prima fails to broadcast talk show episode with Czech Culture Minister and Holocaust survivor

27.10.2016 12:03 Yesterday evening the privately-owned Prima television station did not broadcast its most recent episode of a popular talk show with host Jan Kraus during which his guests included Holocaust survivor Jiří Brady and Mr Brady's nephew, Czech Culture Minister Daniel Herman. According to the Seznam online news server, the station told viewers it was not broadcasting the episode because producers did not deliver it to the station in time.
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Miroslav Klempár: The value of a Romani life versus social norms

27.10.2016 9:52 What is the value of a human life? What is the life of a drug addict, a homosexual, a prostitute, a thief - or of a corrupt politician - worth?  full story

Czech Republic: ROMEA journalist interviewed by Radio Wave about death of young Romani man

27.10.2016 9:15 The death of a young man last week was the culmination of a conflict between customers at a pizzeria in the Czech town of Žatec which local police officers intervened in. Romea.cz reporter Jitka Votavová has recapitulated what is known about the case in an interview for Radio Wave.  full story

Twelve assemblies announced internationally to mourn the death of young Romani man in Czech Republic

27.10.2016 8:51 In response to the death of a young Romani man at a pizzeria in Žatec last week there have been and will continue to be several commemorative assemblies throughout the Czech Republic and England. News server Romea.cz is publishing a list here and will update it as new events are announced.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani high school students receive scholarships at ceremony, sponsors are convinced education is an investment

27.10.2016 6:16 "The fact that we are here today, and that the hall is full to the last seat, is a testament to the fact that the allegations that Romani people are not interested in education are a myth. By coming here today, you are aiding in dispelling that myth. We thank you for doing that," said Jitka Votavová, who coordinates ROMEA's Scholarship Program for Romani Students of High Schools and Higher Vocational Schools on Monday, 24 October at the opening of the celebratory gathering of scholarship recipients at the Kaiserstein Palace in Prague.
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Czech actors and theater producers say political elites are failing the country

26.10.2016 16:18 The Association of Professional Theaters and the Actors' Association in the Czech Republic have issued a joint declaration called "We Cannot Stay Silent" in which they sharply criticize the behavior of the country's political elites. Czech President Miloš Zeman is the main target of their criticism.  full story

UK: Romani family from Czech Republic convicted of human trafficking and slavery

26.10.2016 6:15 News server iDNES.cz reports that the BBC has reported that five members of a Romani family from the Czech Republic have been convicted of human trafficking and slavery. The gang of two men and three women, all between the ages of 28 to 37, lured Czech citizens to the UK and then forced them to work and live in shocking conditions through various threats.  full story

Czech report on extremism: Regional elections behind significant growth in extreme-right activity

25.10.2016 17:48 During the period from July to September this year, the Department of Security Policy of the Czech Interior Ministry noted a total of 79 events directly organized by politically-motivated extremist groups or attended by the members of such groups in large numbers. Of those, 46 were organized by extreme-right groups and just 22 by extreme-left groups and initiatives.  full story

Patrik Banga: We Roma must not lower ourselves to the racists' level! Racism and threats are what we criticize

25.10.2016 15:26 Journalist Patrik Banga has posted to the Facebook page of the ROMEA organization calling on his fellow Romani comunity members not to lower themselves to the level of racists and to stop writing their own racist posts and calling for revenge in connection with the death of a Romani man in the town of Žatec last week. "Romale ... I am reading your posts on all of the discussion forums and on Facebook and I am sad. Many of us are calling for revenge, but you must remember that violence just breeds more violence. All of us want the same thing, and that is for there to be a proper investigation of what happened in Žatec. However, if we insult people, if we make threats, if we say racist things, if we use vulgar language, then we are just doing what we criticize others for doing. Please, let's not lower ourselves to the level of the racists," his message says.  full story

Czech Education Ministry tracking Romani and socially disadvantaged pupils to prevent segregation

25.10.2016 13:58 As of November, the Czech Education Ministry will be researching how many Romani and socially disadvantaged children are studying in what kind of programs in both the mainstream primary and practical primary schools. The decision is in response to a judgment from the European Court of Human Rights in 2007 which found that the Czech Republic had discriminated against Romani children in education.  full story