Two witnesses in Vítkov arson case face prosecution for promoting Nazism

Two witnesses in the Vítkov arson case are now facing prosecution themselves. Police have found material supporting racial intolerance and the ideas of Nazi Germany in their homes. Witnesses Marek Kuděla and Tomáš Vassiov were originally part of the larger pool of suspects in the arson, but police were unable to prove they had a hand in either the preparation or the commission of the attack on a Romani family. Three people were injured during the blaze. The most serious injuries were suffered by an infant, Natálie, who was not quite two years old at the time and was burned over 80 % of her body.

State prosecutor Brigita Bilíková said a motion to initiate criminal proceedings against Kuděla and Vassiov will be filed once the first-instance verdict in the Vítkov case is handed down. “Doing it now would be complicated. The confiscated items are part of that case’s file and extracting them from the file would be complicated,” Bilíková explained.

Vassiov is a leading neo-Nazi in Opava. He has been sentenced for similar crimes on four separate occasions, most recently receiving a five-year sentence for attacking three Roma in Ostrava. He served three years of that sentence and was released on parole. If convicted of possession of the neo-Nazi themed material he will also have to serve the rest of his previous sentence. Kuděla and Vassiov are close friends of those charged with committing the arson.

Many of the arsonists’ acquaintances told the police they learned about the attack and who was involved in it shortly after the crime was committed. No one is facing charges for not reporting the crime. All of them claim they were afraid they would also be prosecuted and that the arsonists would take revenge. There are strong suspicions that some of them even knew the arson attack was being planned, but nothing can be proven in that regard.

Last August police arrested a total of 12 right-wing extremists whom they believed were connected to the Vítkov case. In the end, the involvement of only four of them was proven: Václav Cojocaru, Jaromír Lukeš, Ivo Müller and David Vaculík. They face the possibility of extraordinary sentencing, including life in prison, for racially motivated attempted murder.

The trial of the Vítkov arsonists continued today with recordings of conversations between the defendants and their friends being played in court. Police obtained the recordings as part of a surveillance action code-named Vítek.

On one of the recordings Lukeš brags to an acquaintance, V. J., about how he has outmaneuvered the police, who have nothing, and openly talks about the crime. “Hamster [Editor’s Note: The nickname of a member of the white power band “Adler”] went there to take a look and said it was really well-chosen,” V. J. praises Lukeš. “I’d had my eye on it for three months,” a pleased Lukeš replies. He then claims he is reconciled to his arrest and the possibility of a long prison term. “Don’t you realize what a life sentence is, you cunt?” asks V. J., openly surprised at Lukeš’s calm. “No, I’d never get that! Extraordinary means 20 or 25,” Lukeš says. “Good thing we’re not in America, you’d get 300 or execution,” V. J. says, adding that he personally would be most afraid to die by suffocation, burning or drowning.

On the recording Lukeš also speaks very openly with V. J. about the night of the arson attack, but does not mention the names of his other three accomplices. The defendants were given the opportunity to comment after the recording was played.

Defendant David Vaculík repeated his traditional, “No comment, my lawyer will speak for me.” Lukeš, on the other hand, commented a great deal on the wiretap. “I thought V. J. was a police agent because his father is a detective,” Lukeš said, adding that the information he gave was all invented in order to test V. J.’s reliability. Defendant Ivo M?ller said merely that he had no idea the crime had been planned for three months. Defendanat Václav Cojocaru responded with “I have nothing to say about these wiretaps.”

The only representative for the defense to speak was Petr Kausta, Vaculík’s attorney, who demanded the state prosecutor confirm or deny as soon as possible whether V. J. had cooperated with police. He also demanded two police officers be subpoenaed over the alleged loss of documents that were part of the investigation. “I believe it is generally inappropriate to reveal any data concerning the police officers working in that particular unit. Mr Vaculík is the person who could best explain their discoveries to us,” Bilíková responded. Kausta said he wants to subpoena the officers in order to demonstrate that the documents concerned were not just lost but were intentionally destroyed. The state prosecutor rejected both his speculations and the idea that the officers should testify. The trial will continue at 9 AM tomorrow.