Czech Republic

videoCzech Republic: Demonstration against intolerance in Teplice draws less than 100 people

Teplice, 14.6.2013 17:15, (ROMEA) Almost 100 people, most of them Romani, gathered on the main square in the North Bohemian town of Teplice today for a peaceful demonstration "Against Intolerance" to honor the memory of Ivan Jarka. The event is a direct response to Jarka's recent murder, which local Romani residents unequivocally describe as having been racially motivated. Police reportedly disagree with that assessment.  full story

Commentary: When ignorance of the law produces racism

Prague, 13.6.2013 20:53, (ROMEA) After the recent incidents in Duchcov (see http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/czech-police-only-one-romani-person-involved-in-new-incident-in-duchcov) discussion of a supposed "double standard" in the Czech legal system has once again taken off on social networking sites. For now, only verbal attacks are being made in general against all the members of a particular minority in this society, one that allegedly does not obey the laws and abuses the welfare system (those attacks, however, could soon become physical as well).  full story

Patrik Banga resigns from Czech Govt Inter-ministerial Commission on Roma Community Affairs

Prague, 13.6.2013 0:17, (ROMEA) Journalist Patrik Banga has resigned from his post as a civil society member on the Czech Government Inter-ministerial Commission on Roma Community Affairs. In his opinion, no one is taking the Commission seriously as an advisory body to the government.  full story

Czech Republic: Roma quintuplets get arson threats, their supporter gets hacked

Prague, 12.6.2013 23:32, (ROMEA) The first quintuplets to be born in the Czech Republic are doing well and were transferred today to a less intensive care unit of the hospital. They will be able to go home in roughly one month.  full story

Roma entrepreneur offers village free aid after Czech floods, is refused

Trutnov, 12.6.2013 17:29, (ROMEA) Entrepreneur Jaroslav Herák has offered the village of Rudník near Trutnov assistance after the recent floods there. He offered the use of his construction firm's technology and 10 people to run it, plus more people to help with the cleanup, all for free.  full story

videoCzech organizer of anti-Roma demonstrations doesn't recall expressing a desire for mass murder

Duchcov/Prague, 10.6.2013 22:50, (ROMEA) Jan Dufek, the man who was so looking forward to Czech citizens finally rising up to murder off Romani people, is now claiming that he doesn't stand by what he said. "I was upset and unfortunately I can't take it back now," Dufek has told news server iDNES.cz.  full story

Platform for Social Housing meets with Czech Regional Development Minister

Prague, 10.6.2013 21:13, (ROMEA) Today a "happening" by the Platform for Social Housing called "Slippers belong in homes" was held on the Old Town Square in Prague in front of the Czech Regional Development Ministry. The Platform issued a press release on this occasion which news server Romea.cz publishes in full translation below. Czech Regional Development Minister Kamil Jankovský received two representatives of the platform, Prague spokesperson Štěpán Ripka and coordinator Jan Milota.  full story

Commentary: Let's distance ourselves from Roma who give us a bad reputation

Prague, 8.6.2013 19:09, (ROMEA) What do you think the effect is of headlines like the following: “Roma commit another brutal attack: 12-year-old boy beaten with sticks in Duchcov!" Many Czech people read that information and think: "Again? How much longer and we going to stand for this? Why is everyone conniving with them, even closing down the internet discussions so we can't even say our piece?!"  full story

Czech pub owner alleges attack by looters during flood

8.6.2013 18:27, (ROMEA) News server iDNES.cz reports that pub owner Ladislav Kratochvíl of the Czech town of Olšinky has told police in Ústí nad Labem that he was beaten up by thieves whom he startled in his business in the pre-dawn hours of last Monday. He has identified the intruders as Romani.  full story

videoCzech Republic: Conveners of demonstration in Duchcov push for mass murder of Romani people

Duchcov/Prague, 7.6.2013 17:45, (ROMEA) Jan Dufek and Jindřich Svoboda are the organizers of what so far has been just one anti-Roma demonstration in the Czech town of Duchcov, a protest that was followed by an attempted march on Romani people's residences, but the pair have announced other demonstrations for the future. Mayor Jitka Bártová recently did her best to calm the situation in the town after the demonstration by convening a public discussion.  full story

Commentary: Violence in Duchov and Teplice, superficial media are worsening coexistence

Prague, 6.6.2013 21:53, (ROMEA) This commentary was originally published in Czech on 29 May 2013.  full story

Czech media misreport that victim of crossbow shooting was allegedly a thief

Prague, 6.6.2013 19:17, (ROMEA) The incident in Chotěbuz that was recently ruled on by the court was not one in which a thief (or even an alleged thief) was shot with a crossbow. The person who was shot was with a small group of scrap metal collectors who claimed to always perform their activities with the permission of the owners of the buildings or the land from which they did the collecting.  full story

Czech Police: Only one Romani person involved in new incident in Duchcov

Duchcov, 6.6.2013 18:05, (ROMEA) News servers iDNES.cz and TÝDEN.CZ report that in the Czech town of Duchcov a mood of enmity still prevails between the majority-society population and Romani residents. Tensions were not ameliorated by a recent public meeting convened by Mayor Jitka Bártová.  full story

Czech Republic: Protest tomorrow in Teplice honors Romani murder victim

Teplice, 6.6.2013 17:52, (ROMEA) "If you care about why our people are being murdered, if you care about your children's future, come and let's say ENOUGH together!" This is the motto of a demonstration to be held in the North Bohemian town of Teplice tomorrow, 14 June, at 15:30.  full story

Czech Republic: Charges filed against former senator for inciting hatred against Roma

Prague, 5.6.2013 16:53, (ROMEA) Criminal charges have been filed against Petr Pakosta, a former senator for the Civic Democrats (ODS) who is now an independent, over statements he has made about Romani people. The specific comments concered are the following, which were posted to his publicly accessible Facebook profile along with an article about a recent incident of assault allegedly perpetrated by Romani people against a married couple in the town of Duchcov:  full story

videoCzech cop knocked Romani child from pram but the mother is being charged

Rokycany, 4.6.2013 21:08, (ROMEA) Police spokesperson Hana Kroftová has informed news server Romea.cz that the municipal police officer in Rokycany who knocked over a pram with a 16-month old Romani infant in it during a careless and violent intervention against the child's mother will not be brought up on criminal charges. His actions have now been submitted to the Rokycany municipal authorities for misdemeanor review because detectives decided they did not rise to the level of a felony.  full story

Czech Republic: Birth of Roma quintuplets prompts hate online

Prague, 3.6.2013 23:25, (ROMEA) A wave of racist hate has been expressed against the Romani parents of newborn quintuplets and those assisting them in the Czech Republic. The response is most apparent online, either in discussion posts responding to mainstream news articles about the safe delivery of the children, or in comments posted to social networking sites.  full story

Czech Republic: Crossbow shooter gets 10 years for manslaughter of Romani man

Ostrava, 31.5.2013 21:45, (ROMEA) Jaromír Šebesta (age 39), the crossbow shooter from the Czech town of Chotěbuz, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the manslaughter of Martin Hospodi. The Regional Court in Ostrava handed the verdict down today.  full story

Czech Republic: 500 at anti-Roma demo, police keep neo-Nazis from attacking

Duchcov, 30.5.2013 2:51, (ROMEA) In the Czech town of Duchcov (Teplice district) about 500 people demonstrated in response to an attack perpetrated by a group of Romani people against a young non-Romani married couple in mid-May. Police have already charged five assailants with grievous bodily harm in the case.  full story

Czech mayor refuses to speak with relatives of Romani man murdered in his town

Teplice, 29.5.2013 17:54, (ROMEA) On Tuesday 28 May 2013, the friends and relatives of a Romani man killed on a square in Teplice recently during the grand opening of the spa season gathered in front of the town hall to remember the victim. The man's relatives consider his murder to have been a racist attack and are bothered by the fact that the victim has been described in the Czech media as a thief. Initial media reports on the incident said a stallkeeper attacked the 49-year-old man over the theft of two bratwurst.  full story