Victim of the planned manhunt
In the 1990s, the Czech Republic was heavily affected by racist skinhead violence, which affected many Roma. One of the most notable cases took place in Písek. It was the result of a planned event in which a local skinhead leader, Jaroslav Churáček, called a group of about 15 skinheads to the city to attack and persecute the local Roma. According to some reports, they were prepared to go to an island in a local river where young Roma gathered and cynically referred to the event as “Beaver (“Bobr”in Czech). After they forcibly drove four Roma into the river, one of them drowned. The case aroused resentment in the Roma community, especially after the first instance court handed down only very light sentences. However, the main perpetrators were eventually convicted in 1998.
“None of the defendants showed the slightest remorse for their actions and did not appreciate the impact of what they had done, even five years later.”
Regional Court in České Budějovice, judgement 9T 5/98-1425 from 8 October 1998
Further Reading / Source
Thirty years ago, Tibor Danihel was murdered because of his race: How the Czech justice system and the media dealt with that kind of violence
Kostlán, František – Albert, Gwendolyn (2023), Romea
Leadership and Right-Wing Extremist Violence: Case Studies from the Czech Territory. In Milosevic, Marko Rekawek, Kacper (eds): Perseverance of Terrorism: Focus on Leaders
Mareš, Miroslav (2014), Amsterdam: IOS Press, pp. 103-110