Czech Romany not compensated for bat wit "for gypsies" sign

A Romany who felt harmed by a baseball bat with the inscription "for gypsies" displayed at a public place is not entitled to compensation or apology, the Czech Supreme Court (NS) has ruled for the second time, CTK has found out in the database of the court’s verdicts.

The NS did not qualify the bat as a discrimination case and an act harming human dignity.

The baseball bat displayed in a pub in the country was "decorated" with other inscriptions, too, that could be rather viewed as a practical joke than a racist attack, the court ruled in February in proceedings behind closed doors.

Various Czech courts have dealt with the case since 2001.

NGOs along with a Romany activist then filed a complaint against a restaurant with a statue of an Antique god holding the baseball bat with the controversial inscription "for [beating up] gypsies," that is Romanies.

The case was also recently mentioned in the NGOs’ report on discrimination in the Czech Republic for the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC).

The Romany activist then brought a personality protection suit against the company running the pub.

The Prague City Court and the appeals High Court rejected the complaint as unsubstantiated. However, the Supreme Court then returned the case for re-appraisal.

After a more thorough investigation, the lower-level courts turned down the complaint again, pointing to other inscriptions on the bat that were allegedly meant as a joke. The NS this time upheld the verdict.

Human rights activists point out that discrimination against Romanies in the Czech Republic has been a serious problem in the long run.

A recent anti-discrimination project has proved that seven out of ten Romanies in selected localities in north Bohemia have faced discriminatory treatment in the past two years, for instance when seeking a job or in services. However, only a few of such cases are brought to court.

The NGOs in their report for the EUMC from 2007 wrote that since 1989 Czech courts had dealt with just a few cases of suspected discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity. Romanies usually demand protection on the basis of the Civic Code and the law on employment since the Czech Republic still lacks the anti-discrimination law.

President Vaclav Klaus vetoed the respective bill last May and deputies have not yet voted on it again.