Chomutov, Olomouc tolerate neo-Nazis, police in Ostrava disperse their march

Starting after 19:00 yesterday, several dozen neo-Nazis in Chomutov, Olomouc and Ostrava expressed their disagreement with the arrest of their fellow adherents earlier this week. About 40 people gathered in each town. In Ostrava, police did not permit the neo-Nazis to march and suspect them of committing a misdemeanor against the law on assembly. In Chomutov, the police suspected two people of committing the misdemeanor of covering their faces. In Olomouc, police officers did not intervene. None of the marches were announced in advance.

In Chomutov the neo-Nazis marched down Čelakovská street toward the park at 19:30 chanting the slogans “Freedom”, “Police State” and “Send our brothers home”. The march was not announced and the police did not intervene. The neo-Nazi gang marched around the courthouse and the old post office. Police arrested one person who was covering his face. “He was making it difficult to identify him,” police spokesperson Petr Procházka told Deník.cz. The unannounced gathering ended around 20:30.

In Ostrava, roughly 20 neo-Nazis set out to march after 19:00. They marched about 300 meters before being stopped by riot police. Police officers checked their identities and gradually released them. According to web server Romea.cz, one neo-Nazi was arrested. In Olomouc, the march ended after roughly half an hour without any police intervention.

It seems the police approach to neo-Nazi marches is different in different places. While in Ostrava police say the unannounced march constituted a misdemeanor against the law on assembly, in Chomutov and Olomouc police found the exact same scenario to be completely in order. The spokesperson for the Chomutov police said the march was spontaneous and only two people committed illegal behavior, so there was no reason to intervene.

Similar actions in support of the radicals took place on Wednesday in Brno and Karlovy Vary. Roughly 70 people in each town participated. Police had to intervene in Karlovy Vary.

On Tuesday police searched the cars and flats of extremists in Ostrava, Prague, Rokycany and South Moravia. They also raided a store in the Vysočany district of Prague where they confiscated music and equipment. The raid was evidently related to concerts organized by the radicals.

After the Tuesday intervention against those connected to extremist groups, police charged 10 people. Five of the radicals were taken into custody yesterday and police released the other five.

We can expect to see more gangs of neo-Nazis on the streets on Saturday in Havlíčkův Brod, Jablonec nad Nisou and Liberec, on Sunday in Most, and on Monday in Kopřivnice.