Vlastimil Pechanec, who was convicted in 2003 of racially-motivated murder, will run in the Czech Republic’s regional elections this autumn as a candidate for the Worker’s Social Justice Party (Dělnická stranu sociální spravedlnosti – DSSS). Pechanec, who was characterized during his trial by expert witnesses as a recidivist whom it would be hard to reform, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the racist murder of a Romani man, Otto Absolon, in the town of Svitavy, and was then released on parole after serving 12 years of that sentence. Before being sentenced for murder, Pechanec had been convicted of two other crimes, grievous bodily harm and rioting. In 2001 he attacked Mr Absolon with a knife when a group of Romani people entered a discotheque. Pechanec stabbed Mr Absolon twice in the abdomen and the 30-year-old victim died as a result of his wounds. According to the court, Pechanec addressed Mr Absolon with racist abuse before attacking and murdering him for absolutely no reason other than that he was a Rom. Mr Absolon was survived by two young children and his seriously ill common-law wife, who passed away one year later. Despite the evidence that resulted in his conviction, Pechanec insists he did not murder Mr Absolon. In 2014 Pechanec was released on parole and last year the court acceded to his attorney’s request that the biological material on the knife considered to be the murder weapon be re-tested. In December the court announced that no reason had been found to re-open Pechanec’s trial. Pechanec could continue seeking a retrial if a new expert witness assessment were to be submitted to the court, but he cannot afford one. He wants to raise the money through a „benefit concert“ in mid-March. Czech daily Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) was the first to publish the information about Pechanec’s DSSS candidacy in its insert for the Pardubice Region. The author of that article, Jaroslav Hubený, felt the need to praise Pechanec’s prerequisites for becoming a politician, which he sees as the fact that Pechanec knows how to cheer on his favorite basketball team from the stands. „His relationship to sports illustrates that basketball fans in Svitavy have been able to repeatedly see him – and mainly hear him – at the league’s basketball games, where he has taken up the role of drummer and ‚cheerleader‘ with a megaphone in his hand. One prerequisite for a politician, i.e., that he not be afraid to stand up against a crowd and against his opponents, Pechanec definitely has,“ Hubený wrote in his article. Continue reading Czech Republic: Racist murderer of Romani man is ultra-right’s candidate in regional elections
Monthly Archives: Februar 2016
Romania Accuses MPs of Defrauding Roma Projects
Romanian authorities are investigating two lawmakers for fraud related to the misuse of EU funds designed to support underprivileged Roma communities.
The law committee of the Romanian Parliament on Monday approved the arrest and prosecution of two deputies, Madalin Voicu and Nicolae Paun, who are being investigated for fraud related to EU-funded projects designed to assist the Roma community. Anti-graft prosecutors say that Voicu and Paun, both Roma themselves, together with other ten people, defrauded two projects aimed at training underprivileged people. Some 6,300 young people or people belonging to vulnerable social groups were supposed to be trained in social entrepreneurship initiatives. In reality, the target groups either did not get proper training or did not take part in projects at all. Meanwhile, those employed to run the projects were paid big salaries, without doing any work in some cases. The EU paid around 5.4 million euro for the projects while the Romanian authorities invested another 0.6 million euro. Both Voicu and Paun denied any wrongdoing. Paun’s Roma Party received some 300,000 euro for the two projects. All those those employed to carry out the projects had to pay a percentage of their salaries to the party. Voicu and his wife received close to 100,000 euro. He was allegedly paid to use his influence to get the projects approved for EU financing. In a related development, last week Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos dismissed the head of the tax authority and his deputy, as both are being investigated for favouring the perpetrators of the offences and for abuse of office. Investigators say the former tax bosses issued two orders exempting the payment of healthcare contributions by people who were fictitiously employed by the Roma Party. Human rights groups have often accused Romania – home to up to 2.5 million Roma, or roughly a sixth of the population – of not doing enough to improve their living standards or job prospects. Both Romania and the EU have earmarked funds for the better integration of the Roma, Europe’s largest ethnic minority. Romania is still considered one of the most corrupt states in the European Union and has made only limited progress in fighting corruption and organised crime since it joined the EU in 2007.
Source: Balkan Insight
Date: 16.02.2016
Spendenaktion
Liebe Feund_Innen und Sympathisant_Innen,
jedes Jahr werden weit über 500 Roma aus Deutschland in den Kosovo abgeschoben. Dort wartet auf diese Menschen häufig Obdachlosigkeit, Diskriminierung auf allen Ebenen und ein kaum vorstellbares Massenelend. Die meisten leben durchschnittlich mit 0,60 EUR pro Tag. Es gibt keinerlei Krankenversicherung und die Lebenshaltungskosten sind mit denen in Deutschland vergleichbar. Der größte Romaslum im Kosovo befindet sich in Fushe Kosove nahe der Hauptstadt Prishtina.
Ergin [1] ist ein junger engagierter Roma aus Fushe Kosove, der aus Deutschland abgeschoben wurde. Er ist Familienvater und hat einen 4 Monate alten Sohn. Ergin hat am Kopf eine Beule welche dringend untersucht werden musste. Der Arzt hat nun gestern eine erste Behandlung durchgeführt und einen Tumor festgestellt, welcher schnellstmöglich entfernt werden muss, da er sonst immer weiter wachsen und dann alles immer schlimmer wird. Ob dieser Tumor „gutartig“ oder „bösartig“ ist, kann erst nach dem Entfernen durch eine Begutachtung festgestellt werden.
Die Gesamtkosten der Operation schätzt der Arzt in seinem ersten Kostenvoranschlag auf 330,- Euro. (Siehe Anhang!) Um Ergin helfen zu können, fehlen uns noch 265 Euro plus Transferkosten. Da unser Verein dies leider nicht aus eigener Kraft stemmen kann, bitten wir Euch, liebe Feund_Innen und Sympathisant_Innen mit einer Spende um Unterstützung.
Bitte helft, damit wir Ergin helfen können!
Verantwortung für Flüchtlinge e.V.
Sparkasse Leipzig
Kontonummer: 1090088457
BLZ: 86055592
IBAN: DE26860555921090088457
Verwendungszweck: Ergin Alija
Hinweis: Leider hat unser Verein noch keine Gemeinnützigkeit, so dass wir
keine Spendenquittung ausstellen können.
Habt vielen Dank im Voraus!
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Verantwortung für Flüchtlinge e.V.
Links:
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[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ2Qyj8LBxc
Mord an sechs Roma: lebenslänglich
Budapest. Das Oberste Gericht Ungarns hat am Dienstag die lebenslangen Gefängnisstrafen für drei Männer aus dem rechtsextremen Milieu bestätigt, die sechs Roma ermordet und zahlreiche weitere verletzt hatten. Unter den Opfern der Mordserie in den Jahren 2008 und 2009 war auch ein fünfjähriges Kind.
Die Täter hatten meist abgelegene Häuser von Roma auf dem Land mit Gewehrschüssen und Molotow-Cocktails angegriffen. Das Trio – zwei Brüder und ein Komplize – war im August 2013 in erster Instanz zu einer lebenslangen Gefängnisstrafe ohne Aussicht auf vorzeitige Entlassung verurteilt worden. Das Urteil ist nun mit dem Spruch der Höchstrichter vom Dienstag rechtskräftig. Ein weiterer Komplize war in erster Instanz zu 13 Jahren Haft verurteilt worden. Dieses Urteil war bereits im Vorjahr rechtskräftig geworden.
Die Mordserie hatte in Ungarn großes Aufsehen erregt. Bei neun Anschlägen hatten die Täter insgesamt 78 Gewehrschüsse abgegeben und mit 11 Molotow-Cocktails Häuser in Brand gesetzt, in denen Roma wohnten. In einem Fall, in Tatarszentgyörgy bei Budapest, starb dabei ein fünfjähriges Kind zusammen mit seinem Vater im Kugelhagel. Die Rechtsradikalen hatten auf die fliehende Familie geschossen, nachdem sie deren Haus angezündet hatten.
Quelle: Nordbayrischer Kurier
Stand: 12.01.2016