Pátek 29. března 2024, svátek má Taťána
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Lidovky.cz

Protest to follow funeral of slain Romani man

  15:09

A regional State Prosecutor said no charges have been filed as it is unclear whether the fatal shooting was an act of self-defense

Romani residents of the northern Bohemian town of Tanvald plan to hold a public commemoration following the funeral on Saturday of a 22-year-old Romani man who was shot dead over the weekend by a “white pensioner” who was arrested and interrogated after the incident but later released as criminal charges have not been filed. Meanwhile, plans are afoot for an anti-Roma protest there, the news server iDnes.cz said, citing the town’s mayor.

“We have discussed how to organize the commemoration with police. A peaceful event will take place after the funeral of the gunshot victim on Saturday,” Eva Gáborová of the Roma Tanvald civic association, which has been entrusted by the victim’s family to hold the march, told the Czech news server Romea.cz.

“The whole town knew him; this is definitely meant as a gesture of respect for the boy,” she added. According to the news server, Romani residents of Tanvald have made clear the event will be a peaceful, reverential commemoration. The dead man’s older brother, aged 24, was also reportedly shot at point blank range but survived. Although he is in stable condition in hospital, it is unclear whether he has been questionned by the police.

Some Czech media have speculated that the two brothers attacked the older man following New Year’s Eve celebrations. Regional State Prosecutor Lenka Bradáčová was quoted as saying that the investigation is ongoing and it was unclear whether it was an act of self-defense on the pensioner’s part. The office would not be making any further statements on the incident this week, she told TV Nova. The incident was widely covered due to rising racial tensions in the region over recent months between ‘ethnic Czechs’ and the Romani (‘Gypsy’) minority.

The incident was widely covered due to rising racial tensions in the region over recent months between “ethnic Czechs,” as domestic media often refer to whites, and the Romani (“Gypsy”) minority, who are sometimes referred to as “inadaptable” and “socially weak” citizens — and blamed for a perceived increase in crime in economically depressed northern Bohemia. 

The commercial Czech news station TV Nova reported that a 63-year-old man shot the two brothers at around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday (Jan. 1) and has left the Czech Republic for Germany. The victims’ father claims the shooter is a former police officer, but the town’s mayor denied it.

Earlier this week, Tanvald mayor Petr Polák said there had never been any significant problems with the victims’ parents or grandmother but that the same could not be said of the youths, whom he said both have criminal records, Romea.cz reported.

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