Bedřiška residents say police have charged two neighbors, a woman and her son

Residents of the Bedřiška settlement in Ostrava are having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that the arsonists who recently attacked the home of a local Romani family with a Molotov cocktail were actually their neighbors. “We are in shock. Police have charged our neighbor and her son. I don’t know how they will carry on living here,” victim Dušan Podraný told the Czech Press Agency today.

Activist Kumar Vishwanathan, who is taking an interest in the case, has confirmed the information about the charges. “Two people have been charged. A woman and her son,” he told the Czech Press Agency today, adding that alarm and nervousness are once again the dominant mood in the settlement, where several non-Romani families reside as well as Romani ones. “There has been a great deal of discussion between the Podraný family and the family of those charged. However, we do not expect any significant unrest,” Vishwanathan said.

Police detained the woman, her partner, her brother and the couple’s two sons early yesterday morning. Podraný says he does not expect any violence to be committed against the relatives of those charged. “I don’t think anyone would attack them here or choose to resolve this through violence. However, verbal references to the situation are definitely being made,” he said, adding that he has tried to contact the brother of the woman who has allegedly been charged. “He doesn’t want to say anything. They are all waiting to learn more from the police,” Podraný says.

Police are refusing to comment on this development in the investigation of the case, which has been qualified as attempted murder. They will release information at a press conference this Friday. On Wednesday, Soňa Štětínská, spokesperson for the Moravian-Silesian Police, confirmed that police officers had detained a total of five people. “Two people have already been released from detention because no facts had been determined that could justify initiating criminal proceedings against them. The investigation of the other three suspects is ongoing. Detectives have not yet charged anyone,” Štětínská said Wednesday afternoon.

An arsonist or arsonists attacked the single-family home in the settlement during the early morning hours of Sunday 14 March. A Molotov cocktail containing a highly flammable liquid crashed through the window of a room in which a 13-year-old girl was sleeping. The bottled did not shatter and the chemicals did not catch fire. The wick set fire to part of the carpet. The girl was awakened by the breaking glass and managed to put out the flames.

Last April arsonists attacked the home of a Romani family in Vítkov. Investigators determined that three Molotov cocktails were thrown into the home. Three people were injured during the subsequent blaze. Little Natálka, who was not yet two years old, suffered the most serious injuries, extensive second and third degree burns over 80 % of her body. Police tracked down and indicted four right-wing extremists from Bruntál and Opava. Their trial will being at the Regional Court in Ostrava on 11 May.