Czech court finally awards compensation to six Romani children assaulted by a non-Romani couple for racist reasons

The Regional Court had rejected the plaintiffs’ motion that they be paid compensation for the non-pecuniary harms they suffered and referred them to a civil procedure instead. The children, according to the decision which has now taken effect, should be paid a total of CZK 170,000 [EUR 6,960].

“Tuesday’s decision was about non-pecuniary damages which were not awarded previously by the Regional Court and which we reproached the court for in our constitutional complaint, which succeeded when the Constitutional Court unambiguously stated that referring these minors to a civil procedure could lead to their secondary or even tertiary victimization,” the director of the In IUSTITIA organization, Klára Kalibová, attorney for the children harmed, told news server Romea.cz. “All six injured individuals were successful in defending their claims before the court today. However, in some cases the Regional Court lowered the amount of the award, but not excessively so, and it is possible to say that the injured parties’ claims were compensated proportionately.”

Claims for compensation rejected by the first-instance courts

The case happened in April 2019. According to the verdict of the first-instance court in Přerov, the married couple Stanislav and Petra Pumprla started their attack on the group of seven Romani children with racist insults before punching and slapping their faces.

Allegedly the assailants punched several of the children to the ground and kicked them. According to the original medical reports, the children suffered cervical spine sprains, contusions, and light concussions as well as superficial injuries.

Stanislav Pumprla was sentenced to 14 months in prison, suspended for three years, by both the first-instance court and then by the appeals venue in Olomouc, while Petra Pumprla was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years. Both denied their guilt throughout the trial, stating that they had been addressing the fact that the minors in the park had verbally assaulted their daughter.

The attorneys for the injured parties sought non-pecuniary damages. The District Court and then the Regional Court rejected their motion, awarding three victims compensation for pain and suffering in the amount of CZK 35,000 [EUR 1,430] and referring them to a civil proceeding for their other claims.

However, the Constitutional Court rejected that verdict and the dispute over awarding compensation for non-pecuniary damages was returned to the Regional Court. “The Constitutional Court stated that if the lower courts relied on the children’s testimonies as incriminating evidence, it cannot simultaneously not believe the children with regard to their claim for compensation for non-pecuniary harms,” Kalibová said.

Compensation awarded chiefly because the assault was racially motivated

In its most recent decision, the Regional Court emphasized that what it is chiefly compensating is the fact that the minor victims were assaulted because the perpetrators were motivated by their race, the attorney for the children said. Six of the seven injured parties (because one child did not appeal) were awarded compensation for non-pecuniary harms totalling CZK 170,000 [EUR 6,960].

“The court calibrated each claim from the standpoint of two criteria. One was age – the youngest victim was nine at the time of the assault, the oldest was 14. The other was the intensity of the attack. Some of the injured parties were assaulted just verbally, others physically. The lowest amount of compensation ordered was CZK 10,000 [EUR 410], while the highest was CZK 50,000 [EUR 2,050], altogether CZK 170 000 [EUR 6,960]; originally we requested CZK 230,000 [EUR 9,420],“ Kalibová said.

Because this decision to award non-pecuniary damages has taken effect, the convicts are obligated to pay them immediately. However, they have not yet paid the previous award totalling CZK 35,000 [EUR 1,430].

“The convicts have not yet paid any of the compensation for harming the victims’ health, so it is likely the victims will have to open a collections proceeding against them,” Kalibová told Romea.cz.