Czech Police don't yet see racial motive in case where neo-Nazis yelled "the ovens are fired up"

Police spokesperson Petra Trypesová responded yesterday to questions posed to her by news server Romea.cz about a public neo-Nazi event in the town of Děčín that was never announced to authorities and took place on Sunday 18 August at around 18:00. As we previously reported here (http://www.romea.cz/en/news/czech/czech-republic-neo-nazis-assault-roma-with-rocks-shouting-today-you-die-the-ovens-are-fired-up), violent thugs physically and verbally assaulted Romani people living on Kamenická Street in Děčín that day.

Witnesses described some of the attackers as tattooed with swastikas and other Nazi symbols and as shouting racist slogans full of threats of violence while throwing glass bottles and rocks. The impression of local people who witnessed the event was that neither the municipal nor the state police were treating this case with the seriousness it deserves. 

Eyewitnesses said they did not see any police officers attempting to determine the identities of the assailants. Police have reportedly also not yet interviewed any of the eyewitnesses to the incident.

Prior to the incident, around 50 aggressive, racist, violent thugs had been taking some refreshment in the garden of the Daliborka restaurant on that same street. The neo-Nazis first attacked a Romani family who live directly above the restaurant, after which about 20 of them set out to attack another Romani-occupied building about 100 meters away.

The mob first threw rocks at the apartment above the restaurant, breaking a window. In addition to other slogans, the neo-Nazis are said to have chanted "Vítkov, Vítkov, Vítkov…", a reference to the town where the worst neo-Nazi arson attack on a Romani family in the history of the Czech Republic took place in 2009.

The thugs then moved down the street to the Romani-occupied building. According to many eyewitnesses, they gave the Nazi salute, shouted "Heil Hitler" and "Sieg Heil", and also yelled other violent racist slogans, such as "Come on out gypsies, we’ll kill you today", "Gypsies to the gas chambers", "Black swine", "Today you die", and "We’ve fired up the ovens". The assailants threw glass bottles taken from the glass recycling container in front of the building, as well as rocks.

Many eyewitnesses said a person who lives on the top floor of the building across the street from the one that was attacked joined the neo-Nazis. Prior to the start of the assault, he was seen giving the Nazi salute from the window of his apartment.

The man then came down to the street and, according to many eyewitness testimonies, greeted the neo-Nazis, shaking their hands, after which he shouted:  "Finally we’re going to kill them off, the black swine!" According to several local Romani residents, this was not the first time this man has engaged in such an enterprise.

Romani neighbors of the man said he had once thrown a bottle at them from his window across the street and had shouted hatefully at them on other occasions. They also suspect him of having recently fired at them with a popgun, but did not actually see him do it.  

We sent the following questions to the Czech Police about this incident, which spokesperson Petra Trypesová has now answered:

Q:  Is the Police of the Czech Republic investigating this case as one of law-breaking?

A:  On Sunday, 18 August 2013, two calls were made to police officers in Děčín regarding possible violations of the law. Local police officers are currently investigating the incident as a misdemeanor violation against civil coexistence.

Q:  According to many eyewitness testimonies of local people, Czechs and Roma, the police did not ask any of the assailants to show their identification cards so their identities could be determined. Why? How will the Czech Police now determine who committed the crimes witnessed?

A:  According to the information now available to me, police officers at the scene did ascertain the identities of several people. Officers are authorized to determine identity not just through identification cards, but also through other options based on their personal knowledge of the situation and the Law on Police. The identity of the persons participating, and of any eventually found to have been assailants, can be determined later during the investigation from testimonies by eyewitnesses or citizens whom we contact, through investigation of the crime scene, through audio and video recordings, etc.

Q:  Is the Police of the Czech Republic investigating this act as one with a racist subtext?

A:  Not at this time.

Q:  Is the Police of the Czech Republic also investigating the neighbor living in the building across the street from the building in which Romani families live? According to eyewitness testimony, this man joined in the racist verbal assaults and threats of violence.

A:  Police officers in Děčín are verifying all of the information that has been gathered both in and around the scene of this incident and that is connected to the facts reported. Police officers do know several persons who witnessed the reported incident who will be collaborating with officers in future during the course of the investigation.  

Q:  Why hasn’t the Police of the Czech Republic interrogated any of the local people, Czechs and Roma, who were attacked as witnesses to this event?

A:  Police officers have up to 30 days, according to the law on misdemeanors, to verify the reported information, and they can take more time than that to determine any new, relevant facts. When verifying a possible felony, police have up to 60 days by law to verify reported information, and they can also take more time to uncover any important new facts. Those deadlines can be further extended once the state prosecutor approves (or does not approve) moving forward with the case. Anyone who feels the police have not been working in accordance with the law or have committed gross errors can file a complaint about that, in person or in writing, with any police department.