ČTK

videoCzech Republic: KHAMORO festival began yesterday and runs through Saturday

29.5.2017 10:54 Last night the KHAMORO Festival of Romani culture began with a concert on Střelecký ostrov (Shooter's Island) in Prague. Singers Monika Bagárová, Jan Bendig, Elis and
Markéta Konvičková performed at the kick-off event, followed by DJ Gadjo.cz.
 full story

Czech court decides it was unconstitutional for family from Kosovo to be detained in Bělá-Jezová deportation facility

28.5.2017 12:39 The arrest and detention of a migrant from Kosovo and his two children for 50 days in the Bělá-Jezová deportation facility in 2014 violated their fundamental rights. The Czech Constitutional Court handed down its ruling in the matter on 23 May.  full story

videoCzech Republic: Non-Romani man shouts racial abuse at 34-year-old Romani man before shooting him dead

27.5.2017 21:01 Czech Police spokesperson Daniel Vítek told the Czech News Agency today that in the early morning hours today in Chomutov, Czech Republic a 34-year-old Romani man died as a result of being shot. Police officers arrested the suspected shooter at the scene.  full story

EU ministers approve plan to suppress hate on the Internet

26.5.2017 7:40 Reuters reports that ministers of the EU Member States approved a plan on 23 May in Brussels which is meant to force the Facebook, Google and Twitter companies to more effectively eliminate hateful videos posted to their Internet platforms, the first legislative arrangements about such questions at EU level. Firms operating social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube will have to take steps to eliminate videos that defend terrorism and engage in hate speech.  full story

Czech annual report on extremism for 2016: Neo-Nazis leaving the DSSS for National Democracy

20.5.2017 11:40 Extremists held 308 events in the Czech Republic last year, one more than in 2015. Left-wing extremists organzied 133 events, right-wing extremists 129 and anti-immigrant or anti-Islam movements 49 events.  full story

Germany: Right-wing extremism in the east connected to communist rule, study says

20.5.2017 9:38 The high degree of right-wing extremism in the eastern states of Germany has many causes, and one of the most important is having lived there when those states formed the German Democratic Republic (GDR), also formerly known as East Germany. A study published by experts in the Central German city of Göttingen made those claims yesterday.  full story

Czech Finance Ministry raises annual limit above which nonprofits must report sales, local government association still unsatisfied

19.5.2017 10:12 The Czech Finance Ministry has increased the limit of turnover above which associations and nonprofit organizations must report their incomes from minor side business activities to CZK 300 000 [EUR 11 000] annually. Previously the limit above which such groups had to report was CZK 175 000 [EUR 6 600] annually.  full story

Convicted German neo-Nazi who is a former Red Army Faction terrorist arrested in Hungary after seeking asylum

18.5.2017 16:04 The infamous German neo-Nazi Horst Mahler, convicted in his home country of Holocaust denial, has fled to Hungary, where he has applied for asylum. The German
newspaper Mitteldeutsche Zeitung reported the news on 16 May, publishing a letter from him.  full story

Czech Government approves start of bill on social enterprises

17.5.2017 7:46 On 15 May the Czech Government approved a document outlining its intention to draft a bill on social enterprises which should establish clear rules for such firms, the
advantages they would enjoy, and the terms of state support for them. Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) announced the news on Twitter.  full story

Czech ministers say they believe pig farm will be gone from Roma genocide site next year

13.5.2017 19:13 The surviving relatives of the victims of the concentration camp for Romani people at Lety u Písku, members of the public, Czech Human Rights Minister Jan Chvojka (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) and Czech Culture Minister Daniel Herman (Christian Democrats - KDU-ČSL) commemorated the Romani victims of Nazism at the Lety Memorial today. An industrial pig farm occupies the places where the concentration camp for Romani people was located during the Second World War.  full story

German neo-Nazi in Army allegedly planned terrorist attack, fraudulently registered as refugee

9.5.2017 6:58 A scandal is growing in Germany about a soldier who allegedly has been involved in planning a terrorist attack. It has come to light that while the Army had clear indications several years ago that the man was a right-wing extremist, military intelligence was not informed of that fact.  full story

Czech Republic to chair Council of Europe, claims human rights are a priority

5.5.2017 10:48 The Czech Republic will take up the presidency of the Council of Europe on 19 May and says that it will emphasize human rights, the rule of law, support for democracy and education. Those priorities for the presidency have been approved by the Czech Government, according to a tweet by cabinet spokesperson Martin Ayrer.  full story

Czech Interior Ministry's quarterly report on extremism says militia groups are collaborating with MPs

5.5.2017 8:44 During the first quarter of this year in the Czech Republic, extremist entities held 93 events, 20 more than during the same period last year, but the extremist scene was calm and without extraordinary occurrences. Czech security forces did not discover any indications of an increased risk of violent activities connected with the actions of extremist political movements.  full story

Slovak fascist party has a problem: A second MP charged with insulting Romani people, court could disband it

4.5.2017 10:28 The Slovak Police have charged a second MP from the fascist Kotleba-People's Party Our Slovakia (Lidová strana Naše Slovensko - LSNS) for making xenophobic remarks. After first accusing Slovak MP Stanislav Mizík on Thursday, 27 April, detectives also charged his colleague Milan Mazurek the next day.  full story

Czech town buying dilapidated prefab apartment building on housing estate to demolish it

4.5.2017 9:23 The Czech municipality of Litvínov will buy one of the dilapidated prefabricated apartment buildings at the problem-filled Janov housing estate. Town assembly members decided on 28 April to pay the owner, the CPI byty company, CZK 345 000 [EUR 13 000] for it.  full story

videoCzech neo-Nazis experience May Day debacle as counter-protests drown them out with music

2.5.2017 7:21 Yesterday neo-Nazi adherents assembled on náměstí Svobody (Freedom Square) in Brno, the second-biggest city in the Czech Republic, for their 1 May march. Those opposed
to them outnumbered them on the scene and were there to dance and drum.  full story

Czech Republic: Neo-Nazis head to Brno for 1 May, resistance this year will be different

28.4.2017 9:45 Brno residents are not planning to block the 1 May march by the ultra-right convened by the Workers' Youth this year. Instead, they are calling on people through Facebook to organize creative, entertaining, non-violent activities in the city center on 1 May under the slogan "You can't salute the Nazis if you're having a good time" ("Kdo si hraje, nehajluje").  full story

Czech poll finds respondents like Romani people least of any group - 76 % dislike them

28.4.2017 9:01 Of the national groups living in the Czech Republic, people like Czechs, Slovaks and Poles the most, while Romani people and Arabs are the most disliked. With the exception of Arab people, the degree of sympathy felt towards various national groups has not changed much over time.  full story

Czech Republic: Successful Romani hairdresser launches fashion designs

28.4.2017 8:23 Alexander Slepčík has been a hair stylist for more than 10 years and has owned his own salon for more than five. He also advises people on their clothing as a stylist.  full story

Czech social housing law adoption nowhere in sight, MPs haven't moved to second reading

27.4.2017 8:17 On 25 April the Czech Chamber of Deputies once again failed to close its opening debate of the draft law on social housing prepared by the Czech Labor and Social Affairs Ministry. The chances of the law being adopted before the autumn elections continue to sink.  full story