Czech Republic

Stanislava Ondová: I'm beginning to no longer feel safe in our Czech Republic

21.10.2016 14:01 We probably all know by now that a young father of two children has died in Žatec under very strange circumstances. According to the Czech Police, nobody is to blame for his death even though video footage recorded by a customer at the restaurant where the incident took place appears to show something else.  full story

videoEyewitness says assailants shouting racist abuse and beating Romani man before he died were in full view of Czech Police

21.10.2016 13:16 The video above is an interview with an eyewitness who saw part of the incident on 18 October in the Czech town of Žatec that resulted in the death of a Romani man. Eyewitness Miroslav Mašek says he saw the incident through the glass wall of the pizzeria.  full story

Patrik Banga: Dear Czech Police, 27-year-olds do not just up and die

21.10.2016 12:11 Three days ago, somebody died in the town of Žatec under circumstances that are basically absolutely unclear. According to one version of what happened, the man assaulted customers in a restaurant and local police intervened against him.  full story

Czech Police say autopsy finds young Romani man's death was not caused by a third party

21.10.2016 10:15 The Czech Police are asserting that the initial findings of a court-ordered autopsy have not ascertained any third-party culpability for the death of a young Romani man at a pizzeria in Žatec. The man died on 18 October, shortly after 19:00, after getting into a scuffle with other customers which local police officers intervened in also.  full story

Czech Republic: Two local assemblies memorialize Romani man's death

21.10.2016 9:31 In the Czech towns of Louny and Žatec, assemblies were held yesterday at 15:00 to memorialize the death of a young Romani man in a local pizzeria. The first gathering took place on Tyršovo Square in Louny, where more than 30 people gathered.  full story

Czech Republic: Young Romani man has died after a scuffle, no charges filed yet

20.10.2016 20:32 On Tuesday, 18 October at around 19:00 a conflict took place among customers at a pizzeria in the Czech town of Žatec, one of whom, a young Romani man, died afterward. Local police officers intervened during the scuffle.  full story

Purges at the Czech Freedom Fighters' Union - critics of xenophobic chair excluded, two branches closed

20.10.2016 17:34 The Central Committee of the Czech Freedom Fighters' Union (Český svaz bojovníků za svobodu - ČSBS) closed its Jičín and Kladno district member organizations during a meeting on 18 October. Three individual members have also been excluded from the union.  full story

Czech Republic: Roma Spirit 2016 announces final candidates

20.10.2016 15:48 Two expert juries, one in Brno and one in Prague, have chosen the candidates for the Roma Spirit award in the Czech Republic this year. Of a total of 216 nominations submitted by the public, 15 finalists have been chosen.  full story

Czech expert testifies that activists' sign was anti-Jewish incitement

19.10.2016 6:48 In Jihlava yesterday the trial opened in the case of the chair of the ultra-right National Democracy (ND) party, Adam B. Bartoš and his former vice-chair, Ladislav Zemánek. The indictment was read and the accused gave testimony.  full story

Slovak President: Politicians should not play with fire and go as far as populism

18.10.2016 21:29 Yesterday Slovak President Andrej Kiska gave a speech opening the Forum 2000 conference at which he said politicians should be aware of their responsibilities at this complex time. They should not play with fire or use words to spark emotions among people that might have far-reaching consequences, he said.  full story

Czech Republic: New project supports high school education among residents of Chanov housing estate

17.10.2016 14:43 News server iDNES.cz reports that at the Chanov housing estate in Most a new education project is being launched called "Support for High School Education for Youth at Chanov". The project will run for three years and involves a local primary school, the House of Roma Culture (Dům romské kultury), a vocational training institution in the Velebudice quarter and the nonprofit organization Naděje, targeting pupils attending 7th, 8th and 9th grade.  full story

Czech Senate elections: Some anti-Romani candidates win, some lose

16.10.2016 8:12 The Czech Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) have won this year's Senate elections. Candidates with that party's support have won in nine precincts.  full story

Czech Republic: More than 30 % of those surveyed believe Romani children should not attend mainstream education

14.10.2016 13:38 More than three-fifths of the respondents to a survey conducted by the Center for Public Opinion Research (CVVM) in the Czech Republic agree that Romani children should be educated in mainstream classes, but approximately 30 % of respondents are opposed to the idea. The public continues to agree with the existence of various types of primary schools and multi-year college preparatory high schools.  full story

Czech eyewitness: Local racists insulted my Romani friends, assaulted us, and put them in fear for their lives

13.10.2016 21:36 On Saturday, 8 October in the town of Chotutice near Český Brod a brawl broke out between non-Romani and Romani customers at a local restaurant. Czech tabloid media outlets primarily described the entire event as an attack perpetrated by a group of Romani people against local habitués who were said to have first insulted them in a racist way.
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Commentary: Informing on the "Gypsies"

13.10.2016 10:38 On 11 October, František Ryba, chair of the Krušnohor Apartment Construction Cooperative, sent a message to the inhabitants of the town of Most through a spokesperson that they should begin informing the authorities about "Gypsies and inadaptables" if such people are bothering them as their neighbors. Ryba has traditionally always been harsh in his public statements - he does not pull his punches, insults people, and is not afraid to make racist attacks on Romani people.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani people remain the most victimized by prejudice

12.10.2016 20:58 "The Czech Republic is laying the foundations for a big disaster," Salim Murad, a political scientist at the University of South Bohemia, told journalist Daniela Drtinová in an interview for the online DVTV.cz broadcaster. Murad studies the perspective of the media and society on minorities, refugees, and other phenomena on the basis of public opinion polls and other data he has been collecting for years.  full story

Foster families of Romani children help them find their roots again in the Czech Republic

12.10.2016 17:17 Martina Vančáková, organizer of an annual meeting of foster families caring for Romani children as part of the "Our Romani Child" program, has just sent me a message: "I'll pick you up at the station in a big yellow car." She is a psychologist and Romani Studies scholar as well as a co-worker of the Center for Foster Family Care, which is organizing the experiential education trip.  full story

Holocaust survivors sharply criticize German justice authorities

12.10.2016 12:51 According to reporting in the New York Times, recently the International Auschwitz Committee (IAC) has criticized the German justice system for lack of activity. The specific subject of their complaint is the case of Oskar Gröning (age 95), a former SS member and accountant at the Auschwitz death camp.  full story

videoEuropean Roma Spirit Awards: Impreuna, Roma Education Support Trust, Romea.cz, Spišský Hrhov, Sabiha Suleiman

11.10.2016 15:15 Yesterday the first-ever European Roma Spirit Awards were announced in Bratislava. The ceremony included a video greeting from EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Věra Jourová.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani scholarship recipients study economics, history, IT, languages and medicine

11.10.2016 14:29 Hundreds of young Romani people are studying at college throughout the Czech Republic. Frequently they are the first people in their families ever to do so.
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