Czech Police arrest hooligan for assaulting two Romani bus passengers

The Czech Television program "Na stopě" ("On the Trail") has reported on a classic case of hate violence that took place just before 3 AM on 2 November on night bus number 511 in Prague. Two aggressive assailants attacked two Romani passengers whom eyewitnesses said were obviously physically weaker than them.

"Two of the passengers were friends who were Romani. They paid for being darker than everyone else," the reporter said.

According to Czech Television, the other passengers on the bus watched as two approximately 20-year-old, heavy-set, tall youths "trampled on the two Roma who were obviously physically much weaker." At the start of the interaction, one of the aggressors mistook one of the victims for "white" and cursed at him, telling him he should be ashamed to ride the bus together with a Romani man. 

The Romani victims did their best to hold back, telling their assailants to leave them alone, but the two "whites" took that as a sign of weakness, decided provocations weren’t enough and began threatening to beat the Roma, which they then proceeded to do. Police officers speaking anonymously in the television report said the beating of the Romani passengers took place at the Prosek station and that they were beaten up "because they were ethnic Roma." 

The victims, in an effort to avoid physical conflict, reportedly told the perpetrators they were getting out at Střížkov. The perpetrators got off at that stop, but when they saw the Romani passengers remained on the bus, they got back on.

The insults and provocations by the two "white" assailants then began to escalate. No one called the police at that time. 

As can be seen on the footage from CCTV cameras on the street which Czech Television included in their report, the two Romani passengers got off at the Prosek station and the two attackers pursued them. "The aggressors, one of whom was probably armed with brass knuckles, destabilized the two weaker men and turned them on their heads. One of the Romani passengers remained prone immediately after the first blow and lost consciousness immediately. The other, who was significantly shaken by then, tottered away and almost fell beneath the wheels of the departing bus. One of the attackers did his best to kick him down but fortunately did not succeed," the author of the report comments on the footage.   

The bus then stopped, evidently at the urging of the other passengers. One passenger got off and called the police.

According to police, the perpetrators were probably afraid others might start getting off the bus as well, so they fled the scene. Detectives have managed to apprehend and charge one suspect with the crime, which will probably be qualified as racially motivated.

The suspect is maintaining silence about his accomplice. Detectives say the apprehended 20-year-old is from Čakovice and that he has a juvenile record for rioting. 

"He is currently a member of a group of fans of Prague’s Sparta football club, specifically, the hard core of Prague Sparta, the so-called hooligans," a detective said. Anyone with information that might lead to the capture of the second perpetrator should call 974 858 101.