Czech court sentences one man who assaulted Ukrainians after a march mourning the death of a Romani man to 5.5 years, others get suspended sentences

According to the indictment, the marchers sought out two Ukrainians unknown to them in the city and assaulted them. The court classified the attack as attempted serious bodily harm, disorderly conduct and damage to property.

Five defendants, three of whom were judged as juveniles, declared their guilt and were given conditional sentences. The sentences range from 18 months in prison to 36 months, and the length of the probations ranges from 24 months to 60 months.

A sixth defendant, Ladislav Hartmann, received an unconditional sentence. He was the only defendant to reserve time for a possible appeal to the High Court in Olomouc.

Hartmann told journalists that he regrets these events, which have changed his life. The other convicts will not take advantage of their right to appeal.

Prosecutor Zuzana Zámoravcová proposed stricter punishments for two of the men and is considering appealing once she has received the written justification for the convictions. The incident took place in the garden of a restaurant in Dominikánská Street and was captured on CCTV.

After asking two men whether they were Ukrainian, the assailants threw ashtrays, chairs, drinking glasses, glass candleholders and heavy tables at them. They shouted at them to go back to Ukraine.

“The entire situation might have had a far more serious outcome,” Judge Martin Hrabal said. Prosecutor Zámoravcová said that “The motive was hostile ill will against ethnic Ukrainians.”

Authorities never managed to reach the Ukrainian men who were attacked, so it is unclear what kind of harm they suffered, exactly, as a result of the assault. The attack happened in the context of a previous conflict between Roman Rohozin, a Ukrainian man, with a group of Roma on a tram in Brno that ended with one of the Romani men dying.

After disembarking at the Přístaviště tram stop, Rohozin drew a knife, killing one of the Romani men and injuring others. The Ukrainian faced murder charges, but the prosecutor reclassified his actions as bodily harm and homicide.

The Regional Court in Brno eventually acquitted Rohozin of all charges, considering his actions necessary self-defense. The event sparked passions and protests in the Romani community in Brno.

Romani women and men refused to accept the acquittal and protested against it. The court decision significantly increased Romani people’s distrust of the Czech justice system.