Roma Violently Assaulted in Czech Republic

18 May 2007

On 9 September 2006, the Prague Daily Monitor reported escalating violence between Romani and skinhead groups in the northeastern Czech town of Orlova. Axes, baseball bats, chains and brass knuckles were used during various clashes between the groups, according to the Karvina police spokeswoman. Local police reportedly intended to increase their patrols in the town, while attackers from both camps reportedly face charges of hooliganism, inflicting bodily harm and defamation of nation, race, or belief.

In other news, on 28 July, the Czech News Agency (CTK) reported that an unidentified perpetrator shot and wounded four Roma in Ceske Budejovice's largest housing estate in the west of the Czech Republic. According to CTK, the attack was the latest in a series of similar incidents spanning four weeks. In previous attacks, four Romani individuals had been wounded, including two children, and police have not succeeded in identifying the perpetrator. CTK reported that residents of the neighbourhood were living in fear and that parents were afraid to allow their children to play outside. Municipal authorities reportedly decided to place several cameras in the estate by the end of the year but stated that they had no money to provide a standing police presence there.

(CTK, Prague Daily Monitor)