Covering events from January - December 2004

There were reports of police ill-treatment; one man died as a result. Roma continued to suffer from racist violence and inadequate protection. Cage beds were used to restrain children and adults in social care homes for people with mental disabilities.

Police ill-treatment

Several cases of police ill-treatment were reported, relatively few of which were effectively investigated. Some of the victims were foreign nationals. The authorities failed to fulfil recommendations by the UN Committee against Torture and the UN Human Rights Committee to make the system for investigating complaints against police officers independent and impartial.

  • In April a UK national and a New Zealand national were taken by three municipal police officers to the Holšovice state police station after a dispute in a bar over a bill. After the state police said they would not pursue the case, the municipal police officers reportedly drove the men to a deserted area where they kicked them and beat them with truncheons. Both men needed hospital treatment as a result. In July an investigation against the officers was suspended "as no violation of the law took place". During the investigation the officers reportedly at first denied that their car had a global positioning satellite locator system, but subsequently stated that the system had not been working on the night in question. This issue was of importance in connection with the allegation that the two foreign nationals had been driven away from the police station.
  • In August a man died as a result of injuries suffered when he was kicked all over his body by a police officer in front of the police station in Olomouc. An investigation was initiated.

In May the UN Committee against Torture expressed concern that investigations into the alleged use of excessive force by police following demonstrations in Prague during the September 2000 International Monetary Fund/World Bank meeting had found that only one case qualified as a criminal offence.

Discrimination against Roma

In May the UN Committee against Torture expressed concern about "the persistent occurrence of acts of violence against Roma" and the alleged reluctance by police to adequately protect and investigate such crimes, despite efforts made by the government to counter such acts.

In June the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance expressed concern that a number of recommendations it had previously made to the Czech authorities had not been implemented, particularly in relation to combating discrimination and inequality. It also said that Roma children continued to be sent to schools for the mentally disabled and a disproportionately high number were removed from their families and placed in state institutions or foster care. Racially motivated violence and ill-treatment of Roma by police, including of children, continued to be reported.

Reports of racist assaults on Roma by members of the public continued. Some incidents were reportedly perpetrated by youths with extreme racist views who had previously been convicted for similar offences but received light or suspended sentences.

  • In January in Jeseník, Petr Blajze, Martin Jaš and Martin Stiskala each received a suspended sentence of three years' imprisonment for assaulting a Romani couple in their home in June 2003. The three youths had hit Lydie Žigová, who was 21 and pregnant, in the face with a cobblestone. As a result, she permanently lost sight in one eye. Jan Žiga suffered cuts to his face and chest after he was attacked with a broken bottle. Two weeks after the conviction, Martin Stiskala and several other youths reportedly chased the couple down the street shouting racist insults. In March, two of the same youths – Petr Blajze and Martin Jaš – shouted racist abuse at and assaulted Lukáš Tokár, a young Romani man with a mental disability. Martin Jaš reportedly punched Lukáš Tokar in the face, kicked him in the chest and threatened to kill him if he reported the incident to the police. Lukáš Tokár needed hospital treatment for a broken nose. Police subsequently detained Petr Blajze and Martin Jaš, who were reportedly charged in connection with the assault. In June the Jeseník district court reportedly sentenced Martin Stiskala to a two-year suspended prison sentence for assaulting and racially abusing a 19-year-old Romani man in Jeseník on 14 April. The Romani man had managed to hold Martin Stiskala until the police arrived and detained him.

In September the Ombudsman's office began an investigation into allegations that some Romani women had illegally undergone sterilization procedures. Information presented by the European Roma Rights Centre and local non-governmental organizations indicated that some women may have been subjected to sterilization procedures without their full and informed consent.

Cage beds in psychiatric and social care institutions

In July the Health Minister stated that he had instructed directors of all health institutions immediately to cease use of cage beds that are fitted with a metal-barred construction above the mattress. He called for the elimination of cage beds consisting of metal frames covered with netting by the end of 2004, and recommended replacement of these beds with seclusion rooms as well as increased staffing to improve care for people with mental disabilities. Although this decision was in line with recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the UN Human Rights Committee, President Václav Klaus criticized the Health Minister and stated that the cage bed ban "was an unduly hasty step".

Cage beds continued to be used in institutions for children and adults with mental disabilities under the authority of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. There was no official data available on the use of cage beds in social care homes. As there is no legislation governing the use of seclusion and other harmful restraints, there was concern that even if cage beds were eliminated, isolation and increased psychiatric medication would be used instead.

The authorities failed to introduce the much-needed reforms of the mental health care system. Such reforms would include the setting up of community-based alternatives to residential care in psychiatric and social care institutions.

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