Civil society members of the Czech Govt Council on Roma Minority Affairs say Křeček is unacceptable as Public Defender of Rights

The civil society members of the Czech Government Council on Romani Minority Affairs disagree with Stanislav Křeček becoming the next Public Defender of Rights (ombudsman). Czech President Miloš Zeman has nominated him as a candidate for the job.

In a press release, the civil society members say they are bothered by the fact that Křeček used the JUDr. (“doctor of law”) title before he actually ever was awarded such a degree, that he shares disinformation or hoaxes on the Internet, and that the subject of discrimination is foreign to him. “For us, Stanislav Křeček represents a way of acting and thinking in which protecting human rights and human rights in and of themselves have no value. He embodies a system in which discrimination is being tolerated and is becoming the norm, and where even high political representatives are able to express themselves in stereotypical terms in the public space and to spread fake news. For these reasons, his nomination and eventual election as Public Defender of Rights is something that we would perceive as unacceptable,” reads the press statement, which news server Romea.cz is publishing here in full.

Press release of the civil society members of the Czech Government Council on Romani Minority Affairs

We, the civil society members of the Czech Government Council on Romani Minority Affairs (hereinafter the RVZRM) reject the nomination of Stanislav Křeček to the post of Public Defender of Rights. It is unacceptable to us that the highest authority to which people can appeal on matters of discrimination would be led by a person who supports discrimination.

During the seven years he served in the position of Deputy Public Defender of Rights, Křeček repeatedly demonstrated that the subject of discrimination and human rights protection is foreign to him. Through his public statements he has long diminished the credibility of the Office of the Public Defender of Rights.

Of all the problematic scandals related to those statements, we will discuss the one in which the ombudswoman stood up for a woman of Romani origin who had been discriminatorily excluded from applying for an apartment. Křeček the publicly declared that it had been the landlord’s right to behave in a way that was discriminatory.

In addition to his improper involvement with the Office of the Public Defender of Rights, Křeček is unacceptable to us not just in terms of his expertise and opinions, but also personally. It has been proven that he has improperly used the title of JUDr., shared hoaxes on social networks, and many members of the RVZRM have witnessed his very inappropriate statements during speeches at commemoration ceremonies for the victims of the Roma Holocaust.

For us, Stanislav Křeček represents a way of acting and thinking in which protecting human rights and human rights in and of themselves have no value. He embodies a system in which discrimination is being tolerated and is becoming the norm, and where even high political representatives are able to express themselves in stereotypical terms in the public space and to spread fake news. For these reasons, his nomination and eventual election as Public Defender of Rights is something that we would perceive as unacceptable.

Civil society members of the RVZRM:

Mgr. Jan Husák, vice-chair of the civil society section

PhDr. Renáta Köttnerová

Čeněk Růžička

Mgr. Lucie Fuková

Bc. Edita Stejskalová

Josef Stojka

Bc. Zdeněk Guži

Štefan Oláh

František Bikár

Mgr. Alica Sigmund Heráková

Simon Slanina

Iveta Theuserová

Bc. Tomáš Ščuka

Petr Torák, MBE