Czech court fines seven racists for approving of the murder of a Romani man, but one is appealing - for the publicity

News server Lidovky.cz reports that the District Court in Chomutov, Czech Republic has fined the bodybuilder Filip Grznár CZK 15 000 [EUR 600] for publicly approved of the shooting to death of a young Romani man in Chomutov and threatening other Romani people with murder. The court did not hold a hearing in the matter.
The bodybuilder has refused to pay and has appealed, so the court will now hold a standard public hearing in his case. Another six racists have been given similar punishments for similar crimes related to the incident.
Grznár made a video in response to the tragedy, which happened on 27 May 2017 at 3 AM on a housing estate in Chomutov. The young Romani man was shot at 13 times with a pistol as he was driving a van.
The gunman, Petr Benda, was first sentenced to 12.5 years, but that sentence was later reduced to just seven years. The High State Prosecutor has sent the Supreme State Prosecutor a request for that verdict to be appealed before the Czech Supreme Court.
Benda began serving his prison term on 1 October. In the video released after news of the Romani man's death became known, the bodybuilder said: "[The shooter] did a good deed."
"The problem is that the fucking Czech justice system will send him behind bars, it's horrible," Grznár goes on to say in the video. "The gypsies want to cause unrest and are threatening his family."
"If they do that, then I will go to Chomutov for those gypsies and murder them," his video message said. Detectives charged him with violence against a group and approving of a crime.
"To punish me for something that decidedly cannot seem like a crime to anybody is just ridiculous," the bodybuilder told Lidovky.cz, adding that he wants to clear his name in open court and also get some publicity. "It works for me from the perspective of how many people follow me online," the bodybuilder told the news server.
Other racists fined, put on probation
In addition to Grznár, other people who expressed racist sentiments against Romani people in comments posted beneath his video were also convicted. "During the course of the investigation, other similar posts, expressed in writing, were also found on the Internet," Chomutov's Deputy State Prosecutor Zdeněk Krupička confirmed to Lidovky.cz.
Police charged six other people who also approved of the Romani man's murder and expressed themselves in racist terms. The court then sentenced them for approving of a crime and inciting hatred against a group, also without holding hearings.
"There were three conditional prison sentences handed down ranging from three to six months and suspended for a probationary period of one year, and there were three fines of CZK 10 000 [EUR 400]," the vice-chair of the District Court in Chomutov, Lenka Chalupová, told Lidovky.cz. Unlike Grznár, the other six perpetrators, who come from all over the Czech Republic, have accepted their sentences and are not appealing.
Don't miss:
- Czech appeals court reduces sentence for murder of Romani man to seven years, prosecutor calls it disproportionate, inhumane and unjust
- Czech Police indict bodybuilder who praised shooting of Romani man and made his own death threats
- Czech Police charge bodybuilder with threatening Roma, he faces three years if convicted
- Czech Police investigating video in which non-Romani bodybuilder threatens Roma in Chomutov with murder
Related articles:
- Czech Health Minister: Room for Romani refugees from Ukraine has to be found outside of Prague
- Czech university distances itself from e-mail alleging increased security needed for dorm because of refugees from Ukraine
- Czech Caritas branch objects to Romani political party's critique of aid to Romani refugees from Ukraine, party stands by its allegations
- Jarmila Balážová: Condemnation of refugee Romani children and their mothers from Ukraine is unfair when their brothers, fathers and sons are fighting back at home!
- Prague Mayor tells Czech Govt that if refugees are not redistributed elsewhere in the country by Tuesday, he will close the assistance center
- VIDEO: Tents for Romani refugees from Ukraine were erected in the Czech capital in the Troja neighborhood
- Mayor of Prague says if the Czech state does not systematize the distribution of refugees it will close its aid center, tent city supposedly being built
- Commentary: Arrogant behavior of Czech Railways staff toward Romani refugees from Ukraine and absurd police proposals
- Romani nonprofits and civil society members of the Czech Govt Council on Roma Minority Affairs call on PM to hold a crisis meeting with them about aid to Romani Ukrainian refugees
- Czech Police seem to prevent Romani refugees from disembarking at station, but say they just informed them there is no accommodation available in the country's second-largest city
- Czech activist aiding Romani refugee Ukrainians on their way to Germany says Czech passengers targeted them with racist, vulgar abuse
- Czech civic initiative calls for aid and demands systemic solution after assistance to Romani refugees from Ukraine collapses altogether