Czech Inspector-General prosecuting two police officers for torturing Romani man into a false confession

The Czech General Inspection of Security Forces (GIBS) is currently prosecuting two police officers from the city of České Budějovice. They have been charged with torturing a 32-year-old Romani man, threatening him and forcing him to confess to a crime he did not commit.

News server ČT 24 reported on the case yesterday and it has been confirmed by a spokesperson for the Inspectorate. Radim Dragoun, Chief of Inspections, has commented on the investigation in more detail for Czech Television.

Dragoun said the two officers threatened the handcuffed man, vulgarly abused him, and then physically assaulted him. "The suspect was physically attacked despite being in handcuffs. The officers then continued to threaten him, and on the basis of that treatment he confessed to a crime he had not committed," said the GIBS head.

Inspectors charged the two detectives last week with the felony offense of torture and other inhumane treatment. "Both officers have now been reassigned to administrative duty," the spokesperson for the South Bohemian Police, Jiří Matzner, told news server iROZHLAS.cz