Police disperse extremists' concert in West Bohemia

The Czech police dispersed a concert of extremist bands attended by some 120 skinhead supporters in a local hotel in Nove Hamry on Saturday night, regional police spokeswoman Ilona Tymlova told CTK today.

The police interfered as one of the bands was singing a song with anti-Semitic lyrics, and thereby violated law.

The concert audiences defended themselves and two policemen suffered light injuries during the incident.

Five participants in the concert needed a medical treatment in hospital. Policemen questioned six people and released them all afterwards. No one was kept detained, Tymlova said.

A total of 130 riot policemen and 30 detectives were deployed in the action.
The crowd was throwing ashtrays, glasses and tables at the police and built "barricades" against them. This is why the police used coercive means and tear gas, Tymlova said.

The hotel operator Jiri Poul claims that the police action caused damage worth thousands of crowns. He said there was not reason for the police to interfere, in his opinion.

Nove Hamry Mayor Frantisek Kubis said a similar concert was held there four years ago, but the police did not take steps against it. He added that this concert had not been reported beforehand.

The police launched an investigation on suspicion of incitement of hatred against a group of people and restricting their rights and of assaulting a public official.