Czech prosecutor says death threats and racist abuse committed through Facebook not necessarily crimes
The ROMEA organization filed more than 10 reports of suspected crimes at the beginning of this year against persons who used online social networks to post racist verbal attacks against Romani people and members of other minorities, including threatening them with physical destruction. The Prague 1 District State Prosecutor subsequently sent just four of those reports to the Prague 1 District Police Directorate for investigation.
Two of those reports are still being investigated, but as for the other two, the prosecutor has said that the police have not ascertained any facts that would give rise to the suspicion that a crime has been committed in those cases. Another three of the suspected crimes reported have also been rejected outright by the prosecutor.
Six months after the suspected crimes were reported to the prosecutor, the ROMEA organization has still not received any official explanation from the criminal justice authorities as to what, if any, measures have been taken with respect to another four cases reported. The turnaround time prescribed by law for the criminal justice authorities to respond to somebody who reports a suspected crime is one month.
“Why didn’t they just shoot those monkeys? What else can be done with such garbage. They have no right to exist at all”
The prosecutor said she sees nothing illegal, for example, in this comment by a Facebook user posting under the name of Jan Vrzák: “Why didn’t they just shoot those monkeys? What else can be done with such garbage. They have no right to exist at all“
Similarly unprosecutable, according to the authorities, are the proclamations of an online discusser under the name of Vladan Šmotek who posted that he would like to shoot refugees once they cross the Czech border (“... I’d just shoot it… I will be glad to shoot those fuckers“). State Prosecutor Zdeňka Galková has notified ROMEA that such comments are a form of such people “relieving themselves in public without the writers actually meaning what they say seriously or intending to take such action, and they are not capable of committing such behavior anywhere outside of the ‘protective bubble’ of an Internet discussion”.
“The District State Prosecutor’s approach can only be considered as contradicting the Act on the Office of the Public Prosecutor and the Code of Criminal Procedure, which is wrong. It is not possible for the prosecutor, or rather, for the police who are investigating whether a crime has been committed, to infer that because a crime happens in the Internet environment there is no intention to commit crime elsewhere,” Klára Kalibová of the In IUSTITIA organization, which aids victims of hate violence, told news server Romea.cz.
“The demonstration of intent is crucial to solving hate crimes. It is necessary to view it in the context of the entire discussion, the person of the perpetrator, the targets attacked, and other related factors,” Kalibová said.
“That particular remark – ‘Why didn’t they just shoot those monkeys? What else can be done with such garbage. They have no right to exist at all‘ – unambiguously fulfills the definition of crimes per Section 355 taken together with Section 356 of the Criminal Code,” the legal expert said. The remark in which the writer asserts he would “be glad to shoot” people fulfills the definition of a crime according to Section 352 of the Criminal Code, in her view.
“Beat them from morning to night with barbed wire and then skin them on the last day”
The state prosecutor has also called the following post to Facebook by somebody using the name Calvin West a “colloquial figure of speech that is grossly vulgar” but not dangerous: “Hang them from their feet like a punching bag, beat them from morning to night with barbed wire and then skin them on the last day. Solved.”
That comment was aimed at the Romani children who threw rocks at a flamingo in a local zoo that later died as a result. According to Kalibová, given the context, this remark could be a crime according to Section 356 taken together with Section 352.
The remarks that the prosecutor did ask police to investigate concern threats to “bring Romani children to justice”. They appeared in the same discussion as the previous post beneath an article about the flamingo that was killed.
“I, too, have decided to take justice into my own hands before I die. Yes they will be two little Romani children,” a Facebook user proclaimed in mid-March.
The threat of arson that the ROMEA organization received through a Facebook comment last November was also called merely a kind of colloquialism by the prosecutor. “It is a demonstrable fact that the Prague 1 District State Prosecutor has given up for quite some time now on solving hate crimes, and not just in cyberspace. It is appropriate for those who reported this crime to file a complaint with her superiors,” Kalibová told news server Romea.cz.
“The approach of the District State Prosecutor negatively impacts the significance the public gives to hate crime in cyberspace. Victims abandon the effort to defend their rights, perpetrators enjoy impunity, the border between what is allowed and what is not is generally shifted,” Kalibová said.
APPROACH TAKEN BY THE AUTHORITIES TO 10 CRIMES REPORTED BY ROMEA
- “Burn down all of Romea…"
The police were not able to find anything indicating that this remark was a crime. ROMEA asked that the police’s approach be reviewed, but the state prosecutor said she identified with their conclusions, calling the threat of arson a colloquial figure of speech. - “Why didn’t they just shoot those monkeys? What else can be done with such garbage. They have no right to exist at all”
The prosecutor sent the report about this remark to the police for investigation. They were unable to identify any facts indicating it was criminal. - “Those whores, I’d shoot it, first that cunt Merkel who brought it here, and then the rest of those fuckers, they just get to cross our borders whenever, I will be glad to shoot those fuckers“
The prosecutor said this remark does not constitute a crime. - “The shitty optimists led by Merkel are protecting them, those repulsive Muslim monkeys. I would shoot them just like Mladič. He partially exterminated them but it didn’t help. UNFORTUNATELY.”
The prosecutor said this remark does not constitute a crime. It is remarkable that there was no attempt made to investigate whether this is a reference to Ratko Mladić, the former Bosnian Serb military leader accused of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). - “Hang them from their feet like a punching bag, beat them from morning to night with barbed wire and then skin them on the last day. Solved.”
The prosecutor said this remark does not constitute a crime. - “I, too, have decided to take justice into my own hands before I die. Yes they will be two little Romani children.“
The prosecutor sent the report of this remark to the police for further measures. - “Repulsive, useless black filth aggressive from the time they are little… Let’s be racists, we really do not need this!!!!”
The prosecutor sent the report of this remark to the police for further measures. - “Is
Lidl already also multi-culti, putting a nigger in their flyers? If that is for Germany… then there I understand it… there those darkies already shit all over everything enough, but I really don’t want to look at black fuckers here.”
Even six months after this remark was reported, the prosecutor has not informed those reporting it whether any measures were taken in this matter and if so, what those measures were. - “May I ask why you are testing fabrics on trained orangutans?“
Even six months after this remark was reported, the prosecutor has not informed those reporting it whether any measures were taken in this matter and if so, what those measures were. Legal expert Kalibová believes this meets the definition of Section 355, although it could also be considered a misdemeanor. - “Does Lidl want to slowly prepare us for there being more and more niggers here? Thank you, I don’t want niggers, I don’t want Lidl.”
Even six months after this remark was reported, the prosecutor has not informed those reporting it whether any measures were taken in this matter and if so, what those measures were. - “Why in your flyers for our Czech Republic do modles of the NEGROID type constantly appear?“
Even six months after this remark was reported, the prosecutor has not informed those reporting it whether any measures were taken in this matter and if so, what those measures were.
Criminal Acts Disturbing Cohabitation of People – Criminal Code of the Czech Republic
Section 352 Violence Against a Group of People and Individuals
(1) Whoever threatens a group of people with death, bodily harm or causing extensive damage, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for up to one year.
(2) Whoever uses violence against a group of people or against an individual or threatens them with death, bodily harm or causing extensive damage for their true or presupposed race, belonging to an ethnic group, nationality, political or religious beliefs or because they are truly or supposedly without religion, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for six months to three years.
(3) The same sentence as in Sub-section (2) shall be imposed to anyone who
a) conspires or assembles for the purpose of committing such an act, or
b) commits the act referred to in Sub-section (1) by press, film, radio, television, publically accessible computer network or in another similarly effective manner.
Section 355 Defamation of a Nation, Race, Ethnic or other Group of People
(1) Whoever publically defames
a) any nation, its language, any race of ethnic group, or
b) a group of people for their true or presupposed race, belonging to an ethnic group, nationality, political or religious beliefs or because they are truly or supposedly without religion, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for up to two years
(2) An offender shall be sentenced to imprisonment for up to two years, if he/she commits the act referred to in Sub-section (1)
a) with at least two persons, or
b) by press, film, radio, television, publically accessible computer network or in another similarly effective way.
Section 356 Instigation of Hatred towards a Group of People or of Suppression of their Rights and Freedoms
(1) Whoever publically instigates hatred towards any nation, race, ethnic group, religion, class or another group of people or instigates suppression of rights and freedoms of their members, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for up to two years.
(2) The same sentence shall be imposed to anyone who conspires or assembles to commit the act referred to in Sub-section (1).
(3) An offender shall be sentenced to imprisonment for six months to three years, if he/she
a) commits the act referred to in Sub-section (1) by press, film, radio, television, publically accessible computer network or in another similarly effective way, or
b) actively participates in activities of a group, organisation or association that promotes discrimination, violence or race, ethnical, class, religious or other hatred by such an act.
