Czech Republic: "White" aggressor brutally beats up two Romani women, one of them disabled, in the Šluknov foothills

Sisters Božena and Marcela Demeterová paid a cruel price for going to a restaurant last Friday evening in the town of Mikulášovice not far from Rumburk in the Šluknov foothills. The pair were slowly heading home when they were brutally assaulted outside by a young "white" man. Robert Ferenc of the Čačipen association in Krásná Lípa brought the case to the attention of news server Romea.cz.

When Božena Demeterová left the restaurant, she looked for her sister Marcela. "A man we know was sitting out there. He first started shouting something at me, then he kicked me from behind and when I fell he kept kicking me. Then Marcela ran over to protect me and he slapped her. I don’t know what else he did to her, I didn’t see the whole thing because I was still trying to get up. Some guys standing a little way off started yelling at him, asking him what he was doing. He got scared and started running into the park. Marcela threw a rock at him and ran after him. He was waiting for her and he hit her with a board from a fence," she told news server Romea.cz.

Libor Bílý, who was an eyewitness to part of the incident, described what happened as follows:  "Božena came out of the pub and called ‘Marcela, where are you?’ That boy was there and he started shouting at her, ‘What are you doing yelling here, you black pig?’ and he kicked her from behind. When she fell to the ground, he kept kicking her. Marcela ran up and started arguing with him. The boy took a running start at her and sharply kicked her in the chest area. I started yelling at him, asking how he could do that to a woman, and I ran over there. He started running away and Marcela and I started chasing him. I had to stop for a moment because I couldn’t breathe. A second later I heard screaming. When I caught up with her, Marcela was lying on the ground in a pool of blood and a wooden plank from a fence was lying beside her."  

Police have also confirmed the assault took place. "On 23 June police arrested a 20-year-old man for committing physical assault against a woman in Mikulášovice. He currently faces charges of battery," Petra Trypesová, spokesperson for the police in Děčín, told news server Romea.cz.

Božena Demeterová, who was assaulted by the "white" aggressor first, suffered many bruises and a great deal of pain. The assailant’s first target is also a person living with disabilities. She suffered polio as a child. One arm and one leg are shorter than the others and have less range of motion, and she walks with great difficulty. She carries a state identification card of the ZTP/P type  ("especially severely disabled requiring an attendant").

Božena’s sister Marcela, who tried to protect her, ended up in worse shape than she did. "She’s in the hospital in Ústí nad Labem and is waiting to have her broken jaw operated on. She also has a broken collarbone and other injuries," her son Zdeněk Demeter told news server Romea.cz.

"That guy is a drug addict and he was drunk, that’s probably why he snapped," Zdeněk Demeter said of the aggressor. News server Romea.cz will report further information on this case as it becomes available.