Romani Family Assaulted in Their Home by Drunken Man with an Axe

03 April 2006

According to a 12 December 2005 article by the Prague Daily Monitor (PDM), a Romani family in Moravsky Beroun, in the northwestern Bruntal region of the Czech Republic, were assaulted by a drunken man wielding an axe, who entered their apartment in search of a Japanese sword which he believed had been stolen from him. The perpetrator, aged 53, first damaged the exterior of their apartment, yelled racist slurs and threatened to kill the family. Fearing for their lives, the family, a 50-year-old woman, her 54-year-old husband and their 25-year-old son, called the police.

PDM reported that the perpetrator proceeded to enter their apartment and search for the sword, all the while threatening the family with the axe. Though the perpetrator could not find the sword, he refused to accept the Romani family's explanation that they did not have it. The family finally managed to disarm the drunken assaulter and force him into a chair, where he remained until the police arrived on the scene. According to PDM, the perpetrator was accused of breaching the peace, extortion, violation of the privacy of others, and violence against a group of people in accordance with the Czech Criminal Code. As of 20 March 2006, the ERRC was unaware of any legal action taken.

(ERRC, Prague Daily Monitor)