Czech attorney says many reported aspects of last year's machete attack never happened

Czech attorney Klára Samková will be representing the five defendants accused of committing an attack in a gaming room in Nový Bor last year. Samková has told news server Romea.cz that many aspects of the case which were reported by the media as open-and-shut either did not happen at all or were dubiously interpreted by the media. News server Romea.cz is publishing Ms Samková’s statement on the case in full below:

On 17 January 2012 I became the legal representative of the five people charged with having committed the so-called “machete attack” in a gaming room in Nový Bor. I have decided to defend them because I am convinced that many aspects of the case which were presented by the media as open-and-shut either did not happen at all or were dubiously interpreted by the media. In my opinion, the reclassification of the attack as attempted felony murder was intentionally ordered in order to convince the Czech public, through the media, that the justice system has the Romani question “firmly in hand” and that the assailants will receive exemplary sentences irrespective of what actually took place.

I am of the opinion that the justice system is an essential, inalienable public estate. Whenever it is manipulated in any way, whenever there is even a suspicion that a proceedings will not be objective, but that a political or societal demand might be playing a certain role in it, such a circumstance is not only a violation of the right to a fair trial as guaranteed by Article 6, paragraph 1 of the Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, it also poses a threat to all citizens and residents of this country. Injustice for one means injustice for all, or rather, injustice for each one of us.

This is why I will primarily be focusing on a full, truthful clarification of what really happened in this case. I consider it essential that the public have access to all materials concerning it. Those materials, edited only so as to guarantee the protection of personal data, will be published in full on the website www.lawyers.cz.

Because the representation of five defendants (two of whom are fugitives) is such a demanding task that it cannot be performed by one person (or in the standard form of collaboration with the employees and co-workers of a law office), I have called upon law students for assistance in defending and managing this case. A group of volunteers, most of them students at the Law Faculty of Charles University in Prague, has been created to work on the “machete attack” defense. Others who want to lend a hand are welcomed, especially students from the Faculty of Social Studies, the Philosophical Faculty, and other areas. IT support is particularly welcomed. Should you be interested, contact Klára Samková at klara.samkova@lawyers.cz.