Czech Police say man and woman who committed racist attack against Romani children should be prosecuted
The Czech Police have said that the man and woman who assaulted a group of Romani children this spring in Lipník nad Bečvou in the Přerov area and were charged with three felonies, including defamation of a nation, race, ethnic or other group of persons, should be prosecuted. Police spokesperson Miluše Zajícová informed the Czech News Agency of their recommendation on 10 September.
The perpetrators face up to five years in prison if convicted. The incident happened at the beginning of April in the park of the local chateau.
The adult duo attacked five Romani children there, according to police, two of whom had to be treated in hospital after the incident. According to Zajícová, the police investigation was completed earlier this month.
“The file was submitted by us to the District State Prosecutor in Přerov with a motion to file an indictment against two people, a man and a woman, who were charged with felony bodily harm, hooliganism and defamation of a nation, race, ethnic or other group of persons at the beginning of May,” the spokesperson said. Police officers originally investigated the case as a misdemeanor against civil coexistence but later classified the incident as felony bodily harm and hooliganism.
Eventually the police also recommended prosecuting the pair for racial motivation. The incident happened on 7 April and was reported to police by the children’s parents.
“A total of five children was said to have been assaulted. The parents of two of them arranged for hospital treatment, where one was treated and released and another remained in hospital for observation,” the police spokesperson reported previously.
According to news server Romea.cz, the man punched the children in the chest and face, and eyewitnesses report that he also kicked one child in the chest. A 14-year-old boy ended up hospitalized with a bruised back and concussion, another girl received injuries to her thoracic area, and a 12-year-old girl ended up with a bruised spine and a broken nose, the news server reported.
The incident sparked tensions in the town, and police collaborated with crime prevention assistants, a Romani issues specialist and the town hall to calm the situation. The Mayor of Lipník nad Bečvou, Miloslav Přikryl, called the attack an isolated incident.
The mayor had previously told the Czech News Agency that the local police had increased their supervision of problematic places in town. Municipal representatives, according to the mayor, had met to discuss the incident with the state police, the local Romani adviser, the local police, the local social affairs department and Romani activists.
