Hate crime verdict imminent

After six months of hearings and two weeks of deliberation, a regional court in Ostrava will deliver its final ruling Oct. 20 in one of the most closely watched court cases of recent years.

"We expect to open the final session in this case Oct. 20 at 9 a.m.," the court's spokeswoman, Barbara Plchotová, told The Prague Post, just before the paper went to press.

In her closing arguments Oct. 5, State Prosecutor Brigita Bilíková called for prison sentences between 15 and 25 years for the four men alleged to have committed an arson attack on the home of a Roma family in Vítkov, north Moravia, in April 2009.

The family's then 2-year-old daughter, Natálka Siváková, suffered burns on 80 percent of her body and had to undergo multiple surgical procedures during a several-month hospital stay, while her parents were also seriously injured and hospitalized for two weeks. As reported by The Prague Post in June 2009, despite an outpouring of donations in the incident's aftermath, the family had trouble accessing the money and remained without a permanent home for months.

"This is the first time a Czech state prosecutor has suggested such a harsh sentence for a racially motivated act of violence," says Kumar Vishwanathan of the NGO Life Together, who has been in close contact with the family ever since the attack.

"This demonstrates that the Czech courts have woken up and realized it's time to send a signal against hate crimes."

The attack was met with widespread condemnation both nationally and internationally and is considered one of the most extreme examples of violence against the Czech Republic's Roma minority. Vishwanathan says Natálka is facing another bout of serious surgery in a few weeks and may suffer lifelong mental defects due to repeated and extended periods under anesthesia during the multiple surgeries already performed.

"The image of this small child who had been a victim of such senseless violence and cruelty really touched a deep part of the Czech soul," Vishwanathan says. "Czech society became aware of the fact that such evil actions should not be part of our disposition, that something like that cannot happen here."

Legal experts say the judgment will likely set a precedent for sentencing in cases of racially motivated violence.

Sarah Borufka can be reached at
sborufka@praguepost.com