Police and prosecutors have completed their investigation into the case of the establishment of a Czech cell of the neo-Nazi organization Wotan Jugend, based in Russia. Five people charged with the crimes of establishing, supporting and promoting a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms will stand trial on Wednesday, 15 April.
Petr Novák, spokesperson for the District Court for Prague 8, told the Czech News Agency last month that the trial will be held there. If convicted, the defendants face up to five years in prison.
Police in Prague broke up the Czech cell of the neo-Nazi organization last May after several months of investigation. Detectives from the anti-extremist department say a 21-year-old foreigner living in the Czech Republic is behind the establishment of a domestic cell of the Russian organization Wotan Jugend.
Members of the left-wing Antifa organization drew attention online to data from the Justice Ministry’s database naming the foreign defendant as Sergei Busygin. The other defendants are Vojtěch Hájek, Daniel Houdek, Lukáš Kolumpek and Marcel Palacký.
During last year’s raid on the group, one of the defendants was already in prison for a racially-motivated violent felony. Police say Wotan Jugend was established by the members of a band called Moloth in Russia in 2008.
According to detectives, the movement is based on the idea of providing financial, ideological and propaganda support to prisoners convicted of committing crimes that are motivated by hatred of other ethnicities, nationalities, or races, or by similarly hateful motivations. The movement is closely connected to the musical trend of "NS" black metal.
According to police, Wotan Jugend raises money for promotion and support by selling CDs, clothing, stickers and other things featuring motifs of the movement or of the Moloth band, as well as by holding concerts, fundraising drives, or sports events under the auspices of the movement. News server Romea.cz reported on last year’s breakup of the Czech cell of Wotan Jugend here.
