ČTK

Czech Constitutional Court decides local ordinances that ban sitting anywhere but on a bench are unconstitutional

16.7.2017 8:54 The Czech Constitutional Court has abolished the sections of ordinances issued by the towns of Litvínov and Varnsdorf that ban sitting in public anywhere but on a bench. Czech Public Defender of Rights Anna Šabatová filed a motion with the court over the decrees.  full story

videoNew Czech documentary about neo-Nazi who still lives with his mother at age 40 and hates the world

10.7.2017 7:39 On 13 July a documentary portrait of an authentic Czech neo-Nazi will be screened in cinemas. Vít Klusák, director of "The White World According to Daliborek" (Svět podle Daliborka), presented the film last week during the Karlovy Vary Film Festival competition.
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Czech village that won Council of Europe's Roma integration award removing benches used by Romani youth

9.7.2017 11:23 The municipality of Obrnice in the Most district of the Czech Republic is removing outdoor benches from its housing estate. Mayor Drahomíra Miklošová (Civic Democratic Party - ODS) told the Czech News Agency that other residents are complaining that small groups of young people have been sitting on the benches late into the night and making noise.  full story

Christian Democrat chair says Czech Republic should have taken in 10 refugees more to avoid European Commission censure

28.6.2017 11:53 According to the chair of the Czech Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) the Czech Republic should have received 10 more refugees in order to avoid arguing with the European
Commission. Pavel Bělobrádek made his remarks to journalists after the party's statewide conference last week.  full story

Danish Parliament approves harsher law against begging but stops short of requiring deportations

28.6.2017 7:18 Earlier this month the Danish Parliament approved a harsher law against begging in Denmark with a clear majority vote. Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reports that among
those who beg in the northern European country, eastern European Romani immigrants are frequently represented.  full story

Czech and Slovak ministers call for ways to combat radicalism

20.6.2017 14:29 Europe must provide people with prospects for the future so they will not decline into radicalism - that was the thesis agreed upon last week at a conference on the future of the EU attended by Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek (Czech Social Democratic Party -ČSSD) and Slovak Foreign Mnister Miroslav Lajčák. The heads of diplomacy appeared on a panel with the Austrian Ambassador to Prague, Alexander Grubamayr  full story

Sweden: Three neo-Nazis charged with committing bomb attacks after training in Russia

13.6.2017 7:17 Three Swedish men linked to an ultra-right group have been charged with attempted murder and reckless endangerment in connection with bomb attacks against newly-
arrived migrants and left-wing groups. Online news server The Local reported the news last Friday.  full story

Czech Gov't says it will not receive any more migrants on basis of EU quotas

7.6.2017 9:47 The Czech Republic will not be receiving any more migrants from the reception centers in Greece and Italy on the basis of the EU's redistribution quotas because it believes the quota system is dysfunctional and is making that decision on the basis of the deteriorating security situation. Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) announced the news to journalists yesterday after the cabinet session.  full story

Czech Govt report: Half of Romani population are middle class, half in social exclusion

7.6.2017 8:49 Half of the Roma in the Czech Republic live in social exclusion. According to the qualified estimates of the coordinators for Romani minority affairs that is almost 123 000 people.  full story

Czech Constitutional Court rejects complaint from municipality defending its 2006 eviction of Romani residents

5.6.2017 8:34 The Czech Constitutional Court Ústavní soud (ÚS) has rejected a complaint filed by the town of Vsetín about its protracted dispute with the Romani people whom it "deported" and forced to take up residence in municipalities outside of the Zlín Region altogether. The Czech News Agency reported the news on 1 June after discovering it in the judiciary's database.  full story

Slovak Prosecutor-General files motion to dissolve Kotleba's party

1.6.2017 13:19 The Slovak Prosecutor-General has filed a motion with the court to dissolve the ultra-right Kotleba-Lidová strana Naše Slovensko (Kotleba-People's Party Our Slovakia,
or LSNS). The party is currently seated in Parliament.  full story

Czech-French film features young Romani actor in lead role

1.6.2017 7:53 A new Czech-French film from director and screenwriter Petr Václav, "Skokan" ("The Jumper"), tells a story of the search for happiness. Its theatrical premiere will be 8 June.  full story

Czech court gives vandals of businesses in the "HateFree Zone" suspended sentences

31.5.2017 8:40 Five people charged with spray-painting cafés and shops in Prague last year that were participating in the "HateFree" campaign have been convicted and given suspended
sentences of between two and nine months in prison, as well as ordered to pay compensation for some of the damage caused within the realm of their possibilities. Two
defendants must surrender the mobile telephones they used to film the spray-painting as it was happening.  full story

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.
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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