News

Czech Republic: Xenophobic populists criticize Merkel and migration, neo-Nazis throw Molotov cocktails and rocks

8.2.2016 23:46 On Saturday more than 1 000 people attended a demonstration against Islam on Hradčanské Square in Prague convened by the "Bloc against Islam" and the "Dawn of Direct Democracy" (Úsvit) movement. Speakers at the event criticized those advocating for refugees and politicians in both the Czech Republic and the EU  full story

Bulgaria: Romani "imam" arrested last year for allegedly joining the so-called Islamic State

5.2.2016 23:05 Islamist fundamentalists are attempting to exploit the situation of impoverished Romani people in the Balkans and the radical movement of the so-called Islamic State is actively recruiting them into its service. Darko Trifunović, the Serbian representative of the International Strategic Studies Association told news server setimes.com that the radicals want Romani people living in settlements in Bulgaria to replace their national minority identity with a religious one.  full story

Czech anti-racism initiative says assault on Syrian man caused by xenophobic atmosphere

4.2.2016 19:35 According to the anti-Fascists in the "No to Racism" Initiative, which is convening a demonstration in Prague this coming Saturday against hatred, the recently-reported assault on a Syrian man there is one consequence of the atmosphere being created by xenophobic movements in Czech society. "No to Racism" will be assembling to denounce such hatred.  full story

Czech Justice Minister wants judge whose writing insults gays, refugees and Roma to resign

3.2.2016 18:38 News server Aktuálně.cz reports that Miloš Zbránek, a judge with the Liberec branch of the Ústí nad Labem Regional Court, is facing disciplinary action over articles he has authored and published online in which he has criticized Czech Public Defender of Rights Anna Šabatová, ethnic minorities, gay people and refugees. Zbránek considers his writings to be satire.  full story

Intentional misdiagnosis of intellectual disability in the Czech Republic - a case study

2.2.2016 23:36 During the past year, the Otevřená společnost, o.p.s. organization has performed a survey of lower primary education in the Czech Republic. That survey especially emphasized the way instructors view the education of majority-society boys and girls as compared to Romani boys and girls.  full story

Analysis: Czech court convicts neo-Nazis as an organized group for the first time in history

1.2.2016 20:36 Over the past three years we have regularly reported on the case of neo-Nazis from the Czech faction of the Blood & Honour organization who have been indicted for that activity (see here, here and here). This analysis is a summary of the development of this case so far, which has just produced its first verdict: Most of those indicted have been convicted as members of an organized group.
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Czech Public Defender of Rights says municipal bans on sitting in public are unconstitutional

1.2.2016 0:45 News server iDNES.cz reports that Czech Public Defender of Rights Anna Šabatová is asking the Constitutional Court to overturn some parts of ordinances adopted by the northern Bohemian towns of Litvínov and Varnsdorf banning people from sitting down outdoors on low walls or steps. Similar ordinances have multiplied in recent years, but Šabatová believes they violate freedom of movement and are unconstitutional.  full story

Czech parent group in favor of inclusion says the state's approach is the biggest obstacle

29.1.2016 20:26 In the Czech Republic, the Alliance of Parents for Inclusion (Aliance Rodiče za inkluzi) has been striving for more than a year to bolster the role played by parents in the process of including children with disabilities into mainstream schools so they can be accepted by schools as their partners. These parents are requiring that the state do all it can to fulfill their children's lawful right to a quality education and are drawing attention to the current systemic deficiencies preventing the development of inclusive education.  full story

As politicians mark International Holocaust Remembrance day, Czech extremists deny it

28.1.2016 18:02 Yesterday, 27 January, was International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In 2005 the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed it as such, a motion supported by a total of 91 of its member states.  full story

EXCLUSIVE: Romani figure skater Ivan Righini, three-time Italian champion, competes for the European Championship

27.1.2016 19:59 The 2016 European Figure Skating Championships begin today in Bratislava, Slovakia. At 17:30 CET, Ivan Righini, a figure skater with Italian, Romani and Russian roots, will compete for Italy in the men's short program with the starting number of 28.  full story

Mensur Haliti on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day: A Way Forward from “Never Again”

27.1.2016 10:26, (ROMEA) January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day Today, humanity will pay tribute to the millions of people who were murdered in Europe under the Nazi regime.

Commemorations are necessary to understand the demons of human nature and to make us realize what we are “capable of”, and how “good people” can sometimes contribute to mass murders, surrendering their morals to the group in power.  full story

New Czech website focuses on the Romani Holocaust

26.1.2016 19:28 On Wednesday, 27 January, the world will honor the memory of the millions of victims of the Holocaust. On this occasion the In IUSTITIA public benefit corporation, the only group in the Czech Republic comprehensively dedicated to the issue of hate violence, is launching an educational website focused on the topic of the Romani Holocaust, sometimes referred to as the Porajmos.  full story

Slovakia: Three children burn to death in Romani settlement

25.1.2016 18:18 Three children died around in the early morning hours of Sunday in the Romani settlement in the municipality of Lomnička (Stará Ľubovňa district) in eastern Slovakia. A two-year-old boy, four-year-old boy and five-year-old girl tragically burned to death.  full story

Czech town of Kladno: 40 private residential hotels and no other alternative for the poor

23.1.2016 20:08 The shabby building has been wrapped in tape ever since it was condemned. Formerly an infamous residential hotel called the "Meat Factory" (Masokombinát), it is still standing in the Czech town of Kladno despite four-year-old plans by the town to either demolish or sell it.  full story

Czech Public Defender of Rights says 11 % of the population encounters discrimination

22.1.2016 22:48 The Office of the Public Defender of Rights issued a press release today reporting that discrimination is directly experienced by 11 % of the population of the Czech Republic, usually when seeking work or directly in the workplace. The most frequent problem is discrimination due to advanced age.  full story

Separate, Unequal and Hazardous: The essential guide to Roma housing in Slovakia

22.1.2016 11:14 The Slovak Anti-Poverty Network argues that “housing and the protection of the right to housing is the weakest component of public policies”.1 There is a shortage of affordable accommodation; despite the growing number of applicants for social housing, public authorities rarely build new flats, and the number of flats available for rent is low and falls way short of the demand. Programs promoting social mix (more affluent social classes living with the poorer) are entirely missing.  full story

Almost 60 % of Czechs believe Romani children should be educated in mainstream classes

21.1.2016 19:38 More than half of all Czechs consider educating all children together to be the right way forward, according to a survey performed last year by the IPSOS agency for the Czech Professional Society for Inclusive Education (ČOSIV). A total of 57 % of respondents supported that opinion.  full story

Czech city of Brno wants to try groundbreaking project for homeless people by giving them apartments

20.1.2016 23:35 News server ECHO24.cz reports that yesterday Brno city councilors agreed to vote on a project called "Housing First" ("Bydlení především") through which social apartments are to be awarded to homeless people. The project has been created in collaboration with the Platform for Social Housing and the Czech Labor Ministry and must now be approved by the municipal council.  full story

Attila Balogh Hidvégi on serial murders in Hungary: Even brutal crimes did not spark Romani solidarity

19.1.2016 21:10 In connection with the recent verdict of the Hungarian Supreme Court upholding life sentences for three perpetrators of the serial murders of Romani people in Hungary and a 13-year sentence for their accomplice, news server Romea.cz is presenting in translation the following commentary by Romani journalist Attila Balogh Hidvégi who, according to his account, has followed this scandal intensively from the beginning and is completely, thoroughly familiar not just with the text of the indictment, but also with the events that occurred between the various hearings in the case. Hidvégi published his commentary on www.romnet.hu and we are reprinting it in translation here in a shortened form with their kind permission:  full story

Czech Education Minister rejects mayors' calls to delay inclusion

18.1.2016 17:16 Czech Education Minister Kateřina Valachová (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) is opposed to a proposal by the mayors of statutory cities to delay new inclusion measures in the schools which, according to the ministry's plan, are to take place on 1 September. Speaking at a meeting with the Association of Regional Authorities of the Czech Republic in Brno on Friday, she said the change has been discussed for 10 years and is no longer possible to postpone.  full story