Brno, Czech Republic: Suspect in murder of Romani man is released pending trial, Romani community member says it feels like the authorities are "spitting in all our faces"

Klára Belkovová, spokesperson for the Regional Court, and Hynek Olma, spokesperson for the Brno Regional office of the prosecutor, both confirmed that information to the Czech News Agency. The 37-year-old foreign national is charged with attacking two men with a knife, who were then hospitalized.

One man later died in hospital. “All I can say is that the court, in closed session, did actually decide to release him from custody,” Olma said.

The first-instance court in Brno had initially decided to release the suspect from custody at the close of July, but the prosecutor filed a complaint against that decision. “The Regional Court has upheld the first-instance judge’s ruling,” Belkovová said.

The Brno Regional Court spokesperson had no other details to communicate about the decision. The accused is being supervised by a probation officer and has promised in writing not to commit criminal offenses, to appear before the court, the prosecutor or the police when summoned, and always to announce in advance when he plans to leave his place of residence.

“The reasons for him to be remanded into custody persist, but they have been relaxed, and his time in custody has been replaced with exactly those guarantees,” Petra Láníčková, spokesperson for the Brno Municipal Court, was quoted by news server Deník.cz. The man is still accused of murder, but the judge perceives the legal qualification of the case differently than the prosecutor does.

“The judge ruling on the preliminary hearing as to custody disagreed with the legal qualification used to launch the prosecution of the accused,” Láníčková said. However, at this phase of the proceedings, judges are not authorized to reclassify the offense, as that is the role of the criminal justice authorities in the preliminary hearing.

In Brno, the incident of 10 June sparked unrest. The man who was murdered was a Romani youth, while the assailant, according to information that police have yet to confirm, is a Ukrainian national, which has sparked a hateful reaction among some Romani people against Ukrainians.

The authorities failed to communicate with Romani people after the Ukrainian was released from custody, effectively spitting on the community as a whole

Even given the explosive nature of the situation, the relevant authorities have not communicated with any organizations run by Romani people after the release of the Ukrainian suspect in Brno in particular. The Romani people contacted by news server Romea.cz are absolutely shocked by the authorities’ silence, and surprise has also been expressed by the Czech Government Commissioner for Romani Minority Affairs, Lucie Fuková.

“I am surprised by the decision of the Regional Court in Brno. At this moment I am investigating further and considering possible steps,” Fuková said.

“I have to say I am quite disenchanted with the court’s decision in this matter. This entire case sparked a great degree of discontent and upheaval. The perpetrator was released from custody last week. The court should have responded long ago and made a proper argument to the public for its decision. This case is quite well-known in the media and the silence of all the authorities aids nobody,” said Central Bohemian regional official Cyril Koky, himself a member of the Romani community, to news server Romea.cz, adding that he does believe the court has taken the necessary measures to make sure the accused does not flee the country.

“First I’d like to see the justification for this decision, because the prosecutor’s complaint did not succeed. That person stabbed two people, one of whom died. He certainly could have remained in custody to prevent his committing further criminal activity. I’m a layperson, though, maybe the accused had a legal ace up his sleeve and succeeded with his written guarantee. I’m curious as to whether he upholds that guarantee and actually comes to trial, or whether…the court will sign him over to Ukraine,” journalist Patrik Banga told Romea.cz.

“In my opinion this spits in the face of the victim’s family, figuratively speaking, which has been waiting for some elementary justice. It spits in the face of all who have aided that family. It spits on the entire Romani community, which is impatiently waiting to see how the courts grapple with this case. Don’t be surprised if somebody starts saying on Facebook that Ukrainians can get away with any crime here, that the state is protecting them. Even if that’s nonsense, people will believe it. The extremists will have the proper ammunition that will strike the right note, a particularly sensitive one. The court has officially done that for them,” Banga said.

According to attorney Klára Kalibová, director of the In IUSTITIA organization, tensions between the Romani and the Ukrainian minority have been dealt with for more than two months now, but the state continues not to take advantage of or involve nonprofit sector experts in their work. “If a Romani media outlet exists on our territory with the kind of renown and influence that ROMEA has, then it is necessary that the police be required to intensively communicate information through that news server that is as shattering as is the news of the release of a man accused of murdering a Romani victim,” Kalibová said.

“The grounds for detention are established by law – the risk of flight, the risk of influencing witnesses or co-defendants who have yet to be deposed, or the risk of otherwise obstructing the clarification of facts relevant to the criminal proceedings, or the risk of repetition of criminal activity; however, the gravity of the act itself, in this case murder, is not in and of itself enough for detention,” Kalibová said. “However, it is definitely necessary that the state, specifically the police, the prosecutor’s offices, and the court venues ruling on remanding suspects into custody, do a better job of communicating these decisions and a more predictable job. Otherwise, the state bears full responsibility for further spinning the wheels of tension between these communities.”

“How can a person charged with murder be released from custody? How are the Roma supposed to view this? I myself don’t know how to look at this situation, I am feeling a mixture of disappointment, anger and also frustration from these constant slaps from the system which is making it clear to us Roma that we are on the fringe. One thing is certain, none of us like this, and I hope that our resistance and our disagreement with this decision will be very clear to see in the public space,” Nick Budai of Brno has posted to Facebook.

“This is absolutel incomprehensible and inexcusable. On the one hand, many people have been trying and are trying to calm the passions which arose after the murder of this young person at the Brno Reservoir, and BOOM!- you get a fist between the eyes because the justice system, which is supposed to be independent, is releasing on his own recognizance the person suspected of this murder. Justice must really be blind, this information will not calm the situation. I’m just curious who will bear responsibility regarding the repercussions,” said Alena Gronzíková, a member of the Czech Government Council on Romani Minority Affairs.

“This is really spitting in the face of the Roma. It spits in the face of the Romani people who, in a situation of distrust, defended the criminal justice authorities and having been calming the situation down. Yes, those people wanted to finally believe in a justice that is not happening, not today and not tomorrow,” said Romani community member Emil Voráč.