News

German court awards compensation to Muslim woman not hired because of head scarf

17.2.2017 10:24 A German court has awarded compensation to a woman who was not hired by a primary school in Berlin because, as a Muslim, she wears a head scarf. Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported on 10 February that the establisher of the school must pay the rejected applicant the equivalent of two months' pay, or EUR 8 680.  full story

Czech Republic: Non-Romani men fighting "about a girl" misreported by media as neo-Nazi brawl with Roma

17.2.2017 7:53 Online news server udalosti112.cz broadcast reporting including video footage on 12 February claiming that a street battle had erupted in the town of Litvínov, Czech Republic between neo-Nazis and Romani people, writing about a "battle of a group of skinheads with local Roma" that "employed local and state police and emergency medical responders". News server Romea.cz was then contacted by an eyewitness to the incident who said it was not a clash between right-wing extremists and Romani people, but an ordinary "pub brawl" among non-Romani locals involving a dispute "about a girl".  full story

Czech court overturns acquittal in radical Islamic book distribution case

17.2.2017 7:04 The Prague Municipal Court, meeting in closed session, has overturned the acquittal of the former chair of the Muslim Community of Prague, Vladimír Sáňka, and returned the case to the District Court for Prague 1 to be reopened. Prague Municipal Court spokesperson Markéta Puci provided the information in response to a query by the Czech News Agency on 9 February.  full story

Czech Police close investigation into arson attack by neo-Nazis on the Klinika Social Center

16.2.2017 10:40 Prague Police have completed their investigation of the arson attack committed last year against the Klinika Social Center in the Žižkov quarter of Prague 3. The criminal case has been shelved because police failed to ascertain enough facts to begin felony prosecution of a specific suspect.  full story

Czech Justice Minister will not discipline state prosecutor accused of protecting racists

16.2.2017 9:10 Nine months ago the online daily Deník Referendum (DR) filed a motion with the Czech Justice Ministry for disciplinary proceedings to begin against Prague 1 District Attorney JUDr. Zdeňka Galková. Czech Justice Minister Robert Pelikán rejected that motion on 7 February.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister meets with management of Hate Free project to discuss its future

16.2.2017 8:21 Czech Human Rights Minister Jan Chvojka (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) met on 7 February with the leadership of the Czech Government's campaign against hate violence, Hate Free Culture. The three-year project, scheduled to end in April, combats hate speech and xenophobia as well as refuting fake news and hoaxes, mainly in the online environment.
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Senegalese model featured on Lidl ad in Czech Republic hired by company importing mobile phones

16.2.2017 7:22 The Lion Mobile company's latest advertising campaign in the Czech Republic features Senegalese model Alpha Dia, whose image in a flier for the Lidl retail chain sparked many racist commentaries on Faceboook. Lion Mobile imports Xiaomi telephones to the Czech Republic.  full story

Slovak Parliament changes regional election rules, extremists could benefit

16.2.2017 6:50 The Slovak Parliament has changed the rules for the direct election of the chairs (Governors) of the country's eight self-administered regions less than a year before the next elections are to be held. According to the opposition, the amendment could aid extremist candidates including some incumbents, six of whom were supported during the 2013 elections by the Social Democrats headed by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Směr-SD).
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Slovakia: Romani businessman stopped from distributing food to the homeless by authorities

15.2.2017 9:38 Marián Markovič is a 37-year-old businessman from Komárno, Slovakia. News server Romea.cz reported on his decision, roughly a month ago, to regularly aid local homeless people and the socially vulnerable.  full story

Together We Can: Jan Balog

14.2.2017 10:27 Last month, Romea.cz began publishing interviews on a weekly basis with people who are doing interesting things to aid all of us in getting along here. When we were looking for a name for this column, the motto of this year's International Romani Day, "Together We Can", inspired me, so the organizers and I have decided to call this column "Together We Can" as well.
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European Roma and Travellers Forum condemns offer made by self-appointed "king" to US President

13.2.2017 19:44 The European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) has indicated its dismay and outrage over the letter sent recently by Dorin Cioabă of Romania to US President Donald Trump suggesting that Romani people in particular should build a proposed wall between Mexico and the USA. The ERTF condemns ideas that foster segregation and discrimination in any form.  full story

Czech Regional Development Minister reluctantly supports social housing law

13.2.2017 8:21 Czech Regional Development Minister Karla Šlechtová (for ANO) has signed off on the Government's proposed social housing legislation, with reservations. The minister used online social networks to make her disagreement known at the start of February.  full story

Czech Education Minister wants to give schools money to visit historical sites

13.2.2017 7:36 Czech Education Minister Kateřina Valachová (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) wants to make it possible for schools to visit certain locations connected with Czech history free of charge. In May the ministry will make public a pilot program through which schools will be able to seek money for such field trips.  full story

Czech court upholds limits on media using nicknames for politicians

13.2.2017 7:06 The Prague High Court confirmed on 31 January that it would only have been legal for the weekly magazine Reflex to use the nickname "Pitomio" (a pun on a word meaning "fool") to refer to Tomio Okamura, the chair of the "Freedom and Direct Democracy" movement, if it had done so in a context of legitimate criticism. Corrupting the politician's name for no reason is not allowed.  full story

Czech Police propose prosecution of ultra-right extremist, he faces three years if convicted

12.2.2017 9:39 Prague Police have proposed prosecuting the chair of the ultra-right National Democracy party, Adam B.Bartoš, for the crimes of approving of and/or denying, justifying or questioning genocide, inciting hatred, defaming a nation and approving of a felony. Tomáš Hulan, spokesperson for the Prague Police, informed the Czech News Agency of the indictment on 7 February.  full story

Slovakia: Black model in ad sparks racist commentary

11.2.2017 18:26 A hate campaign on social media has been sparked by an advertisement by a Slovak firm selling sports clothing in which a dark-skinned man is featured. The business has stood up for the black model.  full story

Czech Republic's Fulbright Commission opens course preparing Romani students for study in the USA

11.2.2017 16:09 The Fulbright Commission, in collaboration with the Department of Social Pedagogy at the Pedagogical Faculty of Masaryk University in Brno, will open a preparatory course this spring for Romani students interested in possibly studying in the USA. The aim of the course is to familiarize students with what it is like to study in the USA and prepare them to overcome the barriers and fear that deter disadvantaged and minority students from studying abroad.  full story

Czech Government supports amendment to insolvency law to make debt relief more accessible

10.2.2017 6:59 Borrowers in the Czech Republic may become able to enter debt relief processes irrespective of the amount of debt they owe. The process could take either three, five or seven years, depending on the circumstances of the debt.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister and Romani advisers visit socially excluded locality without meeting Romani residents

9.2.2017 7:16 Czech Human Rights Minister Jan Chvojka (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) and representatives of the Monitoring Committee of the Czech Government Council on Romani Minority Affairs, which reviews the work of the Agency for Social Inclusion, visited the town of Most last month, including the Stovky housing estate and a residential hotel called "Key to the Heart" ("K srdci klíč"). The minister did not, however, hold any official discussions with local Romani residents about the situation at the housing estate.  full story

International Romani Union says offer to help Trump came from Rom facing traditional community justice procedure in Romania

8.2.2017 8:35 Dorin Cioabă, the self-declared "King of all Roma", has sent a letter to US President Donald Trump promising to aid him with building the controversial wall on the border between Mexico and the USA. This news, which in the Czech Republic would usually only be fit for the tabloid media, was instead reported here by public broadcaster Czech Radio.  full story