Amnesty International Report 2003 - Czech Republic

Covering events from January - December 2002

CZECH REPUBLIC
Head of state: Václav Havel
Head of government: Vladimir Spidla (replaced Miloš Zeman in July)
Death penalty: abolitionist for all crimes
International Criminal Court: signed

The authorities failed to establish a system for thorough and impartial investigations of abuses committed by police officers. A man of ethnic Romani background died in custody in suspicious circumstances.

Investigations into complaints against law enforcement officers

Investigations into allegations of criminal offences by police officers continued to be conducted by the Inspectorate of the Ministry of the Interior. This system, under which law enforcement officials are investigated by colleagues who report to the same authority, namely the Ministry of the Interior, had been criticized by the UN Human Rights Committee in July 2001. The Committee had expressed concern that such a system "lacks objectivity and credibility" and recommended that the Czech authorities "establish an independent body with authority to receive and investigate all complaints of excessive use of force and other abuses of power by the police".

In January an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code came into effect giving the State Attorney a greater role in supervising the work of the Inspectorate. However, in practice, this amendment had little impact on the impartiality of investigations as the State Attorney is not involved in investigations until a criminal investigation has been initiated; all preliminary investigations continue to be carried out by the Inspectorate with little supervision from the State Attorney. The Inspectorate's role in collecting evidence is particularly important in this early stage when it has the power to inspect the site where the alleged offence has been committed, prepare forensic reports and conduct interviews with witnesses. In the past, the Inspectorate has failed to ensure that complaints of ill-treatment by police officers have been promptly and impartially investigated. As a result those responsible for human rights violations have not been brought to justice and an atmosphere has emerged in which police officers feel they can commit human rights abuses with impunity.

The authorities also failed to put in place mechanisms which would ensure the implementation of the UN Human Rights Committee's recommendations regarding the right of detainees to a lawyer from the moment of deprivation of liberty.

Death in suspicious circumstances

On 19 June 2002, Vladimír Pecha, a 23-year-old man of ethnic Romani background, allegedly jumped from a window of the police station on Malátova Street in Brno. He later died of injuries sustained in the fall. Two police officers reportedly claimed that Vladimír Pecha, who was 170cm tall and weighed 58kg, overpowered them as he was being escorted from the toilet, and jumped out of the window. The Inspectorate did not begin a preliminary investigation until Vladimír Pecha's partner filed a criminal complaint; she and her legal counsel were refused access to the relevant file, in violation of the Code of Criminal Procedure, three times. They were finally allowed to see the file on 6 August, but it contained only interviews with three police officers and three photographs of the place where Vladimír Pecha fell taken five days after the incident. There was no information, for example, on the position in which the body landed or on the state of Vladimír Pecha's clothing. A post-mortem examination ordered by the chief of the police station reportedly had not been instructed to establish whether Vladimír Pecha had suffered any injuries other than those caused by the fall. Following the intervention of the League of Human Rights, a local non-governmental organization, the State Attorney ordered the Inspectorate to complete the suspended investigation. Little progress in the investigation was reported at the end of the year.