Czech Republic: Trial begins of incident that sparked anti-Romani unrest last year

The Regional Court in Ústí nad Labem will begin reviewing the case of a
brutal assault in the town of Duchcov (Teplice district) tomorrow. The
indictment charges five people with attacking a married couple and two of the
five with also beating up an elderly man.

Court spokesperson Markéta Morkusová has announced that the trial will not be
open to the public. "The presiding judge decided that the hearings will not be
open to the public because one of the defendants is a juvenile," she said.

The Czech News Agency, which has a copy of the indictment, reports that the
youngest defendant is also alleged to have been the most brutal during the
attack. The main hearing will last until Friday.

The case involves incidents that occurred in the late night and early morning
hours of 17 and 18 May last year. According to court papers, the juvenile
assailant provoked a conflict with the married couple on Bratří Čapků street in
Duchcov.

Prosecutors charged the defendants with perpetrating grievous bodily harm
(some with attempted GBH), rioting, and the juvenile defendant with making
criminal threats. The police investigation was unable to prove that the attack
was racially motivated, so there is no mention of that in the charges.

The incident sparked anti-Romani unrest in the town, where right-wing
extremists held several demonstrations. Several days ago the married couple
called on the media to take a sensitive approach to their case once the trial
begins.

"I am taking the liberty of sending you a letter from my clients in which
they request that you respect their privacy with respect to the case of their
assault, which will go on trial at the end of February and which has already
been followed by the media in detail," reads a statement sent to news server
Romea.cz by the attorney for the victims, Klára Kalibová of the Law Offices of
Mazel & Směja.