Czech Republic: Video of Romani assembly in Žatec on 20 October

The video above is an edited recording of the gathering that took place on Thursday, 20 October in the Czech town of Žatec in front of the pizzeria where a Romani man (age 26) died on Tuesday at around 19:00. Approximately 100 Romani people gathered on that occasion.

A Romani man is shown in the video addressing those assembled to say “This can’t go on”, among other expressions of indignation. Some of those assembled then chant “We want the murderer!” in unison.

Two men also tape a piece of paper to the pizzeria door and write “MURDERERS! They killed a father of two children!” on it. According to statements made by eyewitnesses to news server Romea.cz, during the incident that preceded the young man’s death, racist insults were directed at him and violence was used against him.

The young man is said to have died at the same time police officers arrested him using force. He is survived by his wife and two young daughters (ages one and four).

The parents of the deceased wanted to identify his body before the autopsy was performed, but were reportedly prevented from exercising that right. A press release issued by the Police of the Czech Republic in Louny says of the young man’s death that: “According to the initial findings of the court-ordered autopsy, no third-party culpability was ascertained.”