Vítkov verdict reignites debate

Political extremism and hate crimes are again the subject of heated debate after a regional court in Ostrava sentenced four men to between 20 and 22 years each for their role in a 2009 firebombing of a Roma family's home.

The four men were convicted of racially motivated attempted murder. After a six-month trial, the court handed out sentences Oct. 20, offering no chance of parole to David Vaculík, Ivo Müller, Václav Cojocar and Jaromír Lukeš.

The arson attack took place in Vítkov, north Moravia, in April 2009, severely injuring the family's then 2-year-old daughter, Natálka Siváková, and sending both parents to the hospital for lengthy stays.

The four men were also ordered to pay a total of 17 million Kč ($961,538) in damages, 9.5 million Kč of which is supposed to go to the family, with 7.5 million Kč slated for Natálka's health insurance company.

With lengthy prison stays in front of them, it is unlikely the men will ever be able to pay such hefty sums.

The now 4-year-old Natálka has been in and out of hospital ever since the attack, having undergone multiple surgical procedures for burns on 80 percent of her body, and will most likely require frequent operations for the rest of her life. Doctors are also concerned that lengthy periods under general anesthesia have caused brain damage.

The girl's mother, Anna Siváková, spoke to The Prague Post just hours after the ruling.

"I am surprised that they got such a harsh sentence, and I am glad for it," she said, "because I really did not expect that the sentences would be that strict in the end."

The four defendants have not apologized to the family and are planning to appeal. Lukeš attended the final session clad in a T-shirt emblazoned with the word "Ragnarök," a term from Norse mythology that refers to an apocalyptic battle between good and evil.

"I went to the initial hearing, where I had to give my testimony, and then when the final verdict was spoken," Anna Siváková said. "I could not bear looking at [the perpetrators]."

While President Václav Klaus raised eyebrows by calling the sentences "unexpected, unexpectedly harsh," legal experts and NGO workers seem to agree that the sentences fit the crime.

"I would not call the punishment exemplary," said Klára Kalibová, the director of In Iustitia, an organization that helps victims of violent crimes. "It is appropriate considering the brutality of the crime, the way it was committed and the consequences that its victim, a child, suffered."

Kumar Vishwanathan, of the NGO Life Together, believes that images of Natálka, which shocked the Czech and international public, as well as the defendants unrepentant stance throughout the trial have changed the Czech mainstream population's view of the Roma minority and weakened support for right-wing extremist parties like the Workers' Party for Social Justice (DSSS), formed after the Constitutional Court banned its predecessor, the Workers' Party (DS), in February.

"It was very evident in the [Oct. 15-16] elections, where none of their candidates were successful, even in areas such as Janov, where they had many supporters in the past," Vishwanathan said. "This has been a clear signal for our society that there is no space for such movements."

Other members from the NGO sector disagree, charging that while the verdict was significant because the court found the perpetrators to have been motivated by the race of their victims, it cannot be interpreted as a general move toward wider acceptance of Roma within Czech society.

"It is very clear that this is the first case in which Roma victims have engendered broad public sympathy, but that is because the primary victim was an infant," said Roma rights activist Gwendolyn Albert. "People can be repulsed by violence committed against a particular infant and still retain their general prejudices nonetheless."

The court's verdict coincided with an Oct. 20 announcement by the Council of Europe that it would train 450 mediators and 100 lawyers next year to help Europe's 10 million to 12 million Roma people access housing and other social services. The move comes in the wake of a decision by French President Nicolas Sarkozy's government to deport Roma migrants living in France to several East European countries.

Sarah Borufka can be reached at
sborufka@praguepost.com