News

Slovak town says: Fascism? Not here!

Bánská Bystrica, Slovakia, 23.12.2014 20:50, (ROMEA) The town of Banská Bystrica had reason to celebrate this month even before Christmas or New Year's. The town marked Human Rights Day on 10 December in grand style as part of a festival of humanity, solidarity and tolerance with the telling name "Not in Our Town".  full story

Commentary: When judges go in-depth

Kynšperk, 22.12.2014 22:13, (ROMEA) There are many cases of controversial police violence resulting in death, and not only in the Czech Republic. All we have to do is recall the recent, only partly violent, powerful protests by civil society in the United States about black youth shot dead by police officers.
 full story

Pope Francis wishes hope and peace for Romani families in Italy

Rome, 22.12.2014 21:38, (ROMEA) Speaking on Sunday 14 December during a pastoral visit to the parish of Saint Joseph in the Aurelia quarter of Rome, Pope Francis met with children, with the families of children baptized this year, with the ill, with Romani people and with youth. The Pope received the faithful in the confessional, where he administered the sacrament of reconciliation.  full story

Italian Police arrest 14 neo-Fascists planning terrorist attacks

Rome, 22.12.2014 21:16, (ROMEA) The ANSA wire service reports that Italian Police, in an extensive raid, have arrested 14 members of a neo-Fascist organization espousing the legacy of the ultra-right movement Ordine Nuovo (New Order). According to detectives, the neo-Fascists were planning terrorist attacks on municipal authorities, police, and tax administrators.  full story

Local edition of Czech daily closes online discussion board due to rising insults, racism and slander

Most, 22.12.2014 20:23, (ROMEA) The editors of the online edition of Mostecký deník (The Most Daily) are taking a step of enormous impact after having been forced to it by long-lasting circumstances. The editors have decided to close down the website's online discussion boards.  full story

Council of Europe: Discrimination of Jews, LGBT, Roma and other minorities rising in Hungary

Budapest, 22.12.2014 19:47, (ROMEA) Discrimination against Jews, LGBT people, the Roma and other minorities is increasing in Hungary. That is the finding of the latest report from the Council of Europe, the organization that supervises human rights protections in Europe.  full story

German Chancellor condemns the Pegida movement

Berlin, 22.12.2014 18:42, (ROMEA) German Chancellor Angela Merkel has sharply criticized an event convened by the "Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West" (Pegida) movement. Merkel said there is no room for inciting violence or for offending foreigners in Germany.  full story

Czech leader of ultra-right party files criminal report against Prime Minister

Prague, 22.12.2014 18:03, (ROMEA) On 17 December, Tomáš Vandas, head of the Workers' Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti - DSSS), filed a criminal report against Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, who chairs the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD). Vandas believes Sobotka committed felony slander when he called the DSSS a Fascist, racist party.  full story

Czech ombud says real estate agents in Ústí Region refuse Romani clients

Brno/Ústí Region, 22.12.2014 17:32, (ROMEA) Several real estate brokers in the Ústí Region are committing direct discrimination by refusing to facilitate negotiations about apartment rentals for Romani tenants, according to Czech Ombud Anna Šabatová, who says landlords are crossing the line in these cases when it comes to choosing tenants. Her office has already informed the Real Estate Chamber of the Czech Republic, the Association of Real Estate Agents of the Czech Republic, and the Czech Chamber of Real Estate Agents of its findings.  full story

US Ambassador attends award ceremony for dozens of gifted Romani children in the Czech Republic

Czech Republic, 22.12.2014 7:53, (ROMEA) Sixty nominated children and young people gathered on Thursday 11 December at the American Center in Prague for the celebratory announcement of the winners of this year's Romani suno ("Romani Dream") competition, most of them accompanied by teachers or workers with the nonprofit organizations where the children attend classes. Other children arrived together with their parents from the towns of Brno. Plzeň, Ostrava, Ústí and Vsetín.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani men get prison without for parole for property destruction and threats

Prague, 22.12.2014 2:12, (ROMEA) Two men who intended to intimidate an eyewitness to a previous incident in which they were involved in the town of Strýčkovice (Domažlice district) in March of this year have now been sentenced. David Matuš got 18 months in a prison with close security and his uncle Radek got 30 months in maximum security prison.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani men get prison without for parole for property destruction and threats

Prague, 22.12.2014 2:12, (ROMEA) Two men who intended to intimidate an eyewitness to a previous incident in which they were involved in the town of Strýčkovice (Domažlice district) in March of this year have now been sentenced. David Matuš got 18 months in a prison with close security and his uncle Radek got 30 months in maximum security prison.  full story

Czech court sentences Romani orchestrator of attack in Děčín to 7.5 years

Děčín, 20.12.2014 3:23, (ROMEA) The Děčín District Court has sentenced the main actor in a brawl near the Calypso gaming room this past July to 7.5 years in prison. Zdeněk Jano will serve his sentence in a maximum security prison for committing grievous bodily harm, rioting, and failing to provide first aid.  full story

Czech Senate distances itself from former Senator's lies about "gypsies" in Switzerland

Prague, 19.12.2014 21:24, (ROMEA) "Geneva used to be a friendly, open city, but several hundred Balkan gypsies were drawn there and now the town is completely paralyzed. The Swiss are afraid to let their children walk down the street. Gypsy children are robbing stores where security measures are weak like magpies," former Czech Senator Pavel Lebeda said this past summer in an interview with the Czech tabloid news server ParlamentníListy.cz.  full story

Czech Republic: Mass this evening commemorates President Václav Havel

Prague, 18.12.2014 23:42, (ROMEA) Former Czech President Václav Havel, who passed away three years ago today in his cottage in the town of Hrádeček (Trutnov district), is being commemorated there through the
lighting of dozens of candles and the placing of various heart-shaped objects. People have been stopping by the cottage since morning to light candles.  full story

Czech winner of US Embassy human rights prize says tolerance for racism is rising

Prague, 17.12.2014 22:26, (ROMEA) The Alice Garrigue Masaryk Prize, which is awarded annually by the American Embassy in Prague in the area of human rights, went to the director and founder of the In IUSTITIA association, Klára Kalibová, this year. She received the award from US Ambassador Andrew Schapiro on 9 December for providing legal aid to the victims of violent hate crimes.  full story

Czech Republic: Racist gang attacks Romani man in Havířov

Havířov, 17.12.2014 19:53, (ROMEA) A 30-year-old Romani man from the Czech town of Havířov was assaulted Saturday night by a group of attackers who are said to have racially abused him. The victim escaped by fleeing into the garden of a house that happened to belong to a District Court judge.  full story

Germany: Planned residential hotels for refugees set ablaze, swastika graffiti nearby

16.12.2014 20:25, (ROMEA) Not far from the town of Nuremberg during the night of 11 December and early morning hours of 12 December, residential hotels intended to house refugees went up in flames. According to Deutsche-Presse Agentur, there are suspicions that they were deliberately set on fire.  full story

Czech competition for "Twentieth Century Stories" announces winners

Prague, 16.12.2014 19:17, (ROMEA) Almost 7 000 people in the Czech Republic voted online for the biggest documentary competition, "Twentieth Century Stories", through which competitors discovered more than 3 000 forgotten eyewitnesses to events from the last century. There were 82 participants in the semi-final round of this second year of the competition.  full story

Czech court handles case of bar attack in Děčín, defendants claim racism

Děčín, 16.12.2014 17:41, (ROMEA) On 9 December testimony was given by the final defendant, Zdeněk Jano, before the Děčín District Court in the main hearing of the case of an attack committed in July by three Romani youths against two non-Romani men and a woman. Peter Horvát and David Czigány face up to two years in prison if convicted of rioting and failing to provide first aid.  full story