ERRC Letter to the General Prosecutor of Czech Republic Judr. V. Veselý
13 June 1997
Honorable General Prosecutor,
The European Roma Rights Center, a public interest law organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal defence in cases of human rights abuse, is concerned about an episode of community violence which took place in mid-May in the town of Klatovy.
According to witness testimony, two Romani men were chased and beaten in the western Czech town of Klatovy, at around 11:30 PM one evening in mid-May 1997. The initial incident led to an attack on a house inhabited by a number of Roma.
According to testimony provided to the ERRC by one of the victims, a middle-aged Romani man named Jaroslav Jano, he and his brother were returning from a pub when they were accosted by a group of around fifteen men who shouted taunts such as "We will kill you!" and "We will get you now, Gypsies!" The men also called the Jano and his brother "chimney-sweeps", a reference both to the colour of their skin and, according to Jano, to an "old family nickname". As the two men attempted to pass the group, there was a scuffle and the group began to chase the two Jano brothers.
According to Jaroslav Jano, he and his brother ran in different directions. He himself ran towards home. Approximately ten people chased him and, since he attempted to evade them by running through the backyards of neighbouring houses, they actually arrived at the house before him. Jano entered his house from the back, and joined family members behind the barricaded front door, which the attackers were attempting to kick in. One of the women inside the house shouted to the attackers that there were children inside. Members of the crowd allegedly responded, "We want the children! We'll put them in the fire! We'll roast your children!"
When the attackers managed to break the door down, Jano challenged them to fight him individually. One of the women in the house also told them that she had called the police, at which point the crowd dispersed. One of the men allegedly challenged Jano to fight the next day. Jano also told the ERRC that, more recently, men from the group have threatened to shoot him.
Ladimír Jano, the second of the two men chased by the crowd, was allegedly pursued by approximately five men. When he fell while running, he was beaten and kicked repeatedly. Following the attack, Ladimír Jano spent ten days in hospital with a concussion and, at the time of the ERRC visit on June 11, he was still heavily medicated and unable to provide testimony.
According to a spokesperson from the Klatovy police, on June 2, a 24-year-old man was taken into custody and charged with defamation of nation, raceand belief (Criminal Code Article 198/2), violation of domestic freedom (238/1), violence against a group (196/2) and disorderly conduct (202/1). The police spokesperson also told the ERRC that further information is being withheld during the police investigation. Information available in the Czech press from June 13 indicates that a second suspect has been detained in connection with the incident and faces the charges listed above. The second suspect had recently been released from prison, where he had been serving a seven-and-a-half year sentence for crimes related to an anti-Romani rampage in February 1991 in Klatovy. This earlier incident culminated in the beating death of one Romani man. The second suspect was released for good behaviour after serving four years of his sentence. Finally, Klatovy State Prosecutor Jiřina Vítovcová, in an interview with the local weekly Týdenník Klatovska, stated that, according to the police's information, a total of three men had taken part in the May 1997 incident.
This statement gives cause for concern that the investigation currently underway may not be sufficiently broad to encompass all persons involved. The ERRC requests that a thorough and independent investigation be carried out to ensure that all individuals responsible for criminal activity be apprehended and prosecuted. We also request that the ERRC be fully informed of the results of such an investigation.
Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director
