Another protest to be held against sentence reduction for juvenile rapist in Czech Republic

Prague will become another site of protest against the sentence reduction for an assailant from the town of Krupka next weekend. On Saturday, 9 April, an initiative which on Facebook is calling itself the “Protest against the Reduction in Punishment for the Assailant from Krupka, Teplice district” is planning a rally at 15:00 on Jan Palach Square (náměstí Jana Palacha) in Prague, followed by a march to the Office of the Government. The organizers of this event have sharply distanced themselves from another event being held in Krupka itself by the Workers’ Social Justice Party (Dělnická strana sociální spravedlnosti – DSSS).

In Krupka, two perpetrators who are members of the Roma minority (one younger than 15, the other a juvenile) brutally beat and raped a 12-year-old non-Roma boy named Patrik, who was going to visit his mother after leaving a children’s home. According to the verdict, which has taken effect, the older perpetrator will serve five years in prison instead of the original 10-year sentence. Immediately after the attack, the ROMEA association did its best to offer legal assistance to Patrik.

The aim of the Prague protest is to express disagreement with the actions of the court and the state prosecutor. According to the main organizer of the protest, Jakub Holas, those officials made it possible for the sentencing to be reduced for one of the perpetrators of this brutal, racially motivated crime. The gathering will also protest the efforts of the media and politicians to minimize the case or “sweep it under the carpet.” Holas also considers it “completely distasteful how the Workers’ Party and other neo-Nazi clubs want to get publicity out of this case when their politics are motivated by the same elements that motivated the attack itself.”

“I greatly appreciate that many Roma activists and organizations condemned this attack. The DSSS and similar neo-Nazi groups are overlooking that fact and are using the sentence reduction as an excuse to spread more hatred against Roma people. On Saturday, 9 April they will be holding a march in Krupka. Because I disagree with how they are framing the matter, and because, as a respectable person, I also cannot agree with such a brutal, racially motivated attack, I decided to hold a protest in Prague on the same day – without the participation of the DSSS and primarily without a racist subtext,” Holas told news server Romea.cz.

Holas says the event will result in a joint declaration by those who attend that will include specific proposals, especially in the area of social work, the aim of which will be to assist, in an effective way, the inclusion of Roma people into everyday life. Holas is also striving to make sure Roma people will speak at the assembly who are also opposed to the court halving the sentence for the juvenile perpetrator.

The protest will take place on Saturday 9 April 2011 starting at 15:00 CET on Jan Palach Square (náměstí Jana Palacha) in Prague. It will be followed by a march to the Office of the Government.