The Vice-Mayor of the Neštěmice quarter of Ústí nad Labem, Lenka Jaremová, has confirmed previous reporting by news server Romea.cz that a nighttime attack committed by Romani people against two ethnic Czechs was preceded by those same ethnic Czechs attacking other Romani people earlier in the afternoon. A Romani grandfather and his grandson filed criminal charges over the incident.

Regional daily Ústecký deník reports that Vice-Mayor Jaremová has posted the following information to Facebook: „I cannot comment on this matter, which is one of contrasting allegations. However, today I did personally see an official report filed by a grandfather and his grandson alleging they were attacked at 17:00 in the Mojžíř quarter by two men armed with knives and machetes… The fact that the men returned to the quarter that same night and what happened to them after they returned is the subject of an ongoing investigation.“

According to news server Deník.cz, one of the ethnic Czechs, who was armed with a knife and a machete, is a well-known bouncer at a discotheque. Police spokesperson Veronika Hyšplerová has also confirmed to news server Romea.cz that the grandfather and grandson were attacked in the afternoon and that the same grandfather then filed criminal charges.

Later on Friday evening, a clash occurred between the two ethnic Czechs and a group of Romani people that resulted in the ethnic Czechs being hospitalized. TV Nova reported on the evening incident in a one-sided manner, without informing viewers about the afternoon incident at all. According to news server Romea.cz, the entire event played out differently than TV Nova reported. The two ethnic Czechs attacked a Romani grandfather and grandson in the afternoon before coming under attack themselves that evening.

News server Romea.cz has interviewed a woman who witnessed the start of the entire incident. „I was hanging my laundry out on the balcony that evening and I saw a Romani woman, her husband and her son running down the street. They were being chased by a man waving a knife and yelling at them, ‚I’ll kill you, you black swine, you black mugs, you’ll die here!‘ The Roma were yelling for help. As they fled towards my building, the lady fell. Her husband ran back for her. Their attacker was waving his knife in her face as she was lying on the ground. Her husband pushed him away and they managed to get inside to hide,“ the witness told us.

News server Romea.cz has the name of the witness, who does not want to be identified because she fears for her life. „I stopped paying attention, and then about three minutes later I saw a crowd of people in front of the building,“ the witness told us. A brawl then took place between the knife-wielding assailant and other Romani people who had come to the aid of the attacked family.

„I was in shock when I saw the TV Nova report and upset by how they described the entire incident. They turned it against the Roma, but that’s not how it was,“ the witness said of the media reports, which in her opinion have exaggerated the incident and described it completely one-sidedly.

When the witness contacted TV Nova regarding their report, she says an editor told her local Romani residents had not wanted to say anything about the incident. „They are all afraid, he [the attacker] lives around the corner. It’s just not possible for some crazy guy with a knife and a machete in his belt to wander around the housing estate here. Everyone knows him,“ the witness said of the knife-wielding man who had hurled racial abuse at the couple. „There are children living among us here, the television is exaggerating it, they listen to one version only, that just can’t be. Many people saw what happened, but they are afraid to testify. We can’t just sit on our hands,“ the emotionally distraught witness told news server Romea.cz.

The ethnic Czech man who was reportedly attacked described a different version of the events to TV Nova. „While walking home through the parking lot, Romani people attacked and beat us up such that we were hospitalized,“ the man said from his hospital bed. During the incident he suffered a concussion, a head injury, a broken arm and wrist, and bruising all over his body. Doctors say it will take him at least two months to heal. The second ethnic Czech man who was reportedly assaulted is being treated at home and does not remember anything after receiving a blow to the head.

„We have received the report of the assault and are investigating the case,“ police spokesperson Helena Mildorfová told TV Nova, which broadcast the testimony of other witnesses who evidently saw the repercussions of the man’s knife attack. „He was lying passively on the ground being beaten on the back and they stepped on his head,“ one witness told TV Nova.

Police are investigating both incidents. A spokesperson said racial motivation cannot be either confirmed or refuted at this phase in either case.

Quelle: Romea.cz
Stand: 18.10.2011