Czech Republic: Protesters against neo-Nazi march may sue police, will protest further Monday

Representatives of a local initiative called "Kralupy against neo-Nazism" (Kralupy proti neonacismu) have responded on Facebook to yesterday's police intervention against them as they were protesting a neo-Nazi march there yesterday (see http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detail=2007_3636). Their statement reads as follows:

"Some of the protesters chose more radical ways of demonstrating their disagreement [with the neo-Nazis], which gave the police a reason to intervene. Their performance of that intervention was objectionable and may even have been illegal. Police did not warn those assembled that they were about to use force. They never officially dispersed the gathering, which had been properly announced to the authorities, and they did not give people the opportunity to leave before their intervention began. The intervention was disproportionate in any event and resulted in more injuries than if it had not been undertaken at all. We are considered filing an administrative action against the police over their procedure.

The violent police procedure and the hypocritical procedure of the town has prompted even greater disagreement among the citizens. This is why we are convening a protest demonstration in front of the building of the town hall (U Cukrovaru 1087) on Monday, 1 October, starting at 16:00, where we will demand an explanation for the inaction of the town leadership and a clarification of the police intervention."