Source: romea.cz
Tragedy led to activism in the fight against extremism
The wave of racist attacks in the mid-1990s was not sufficiently reflected in the security policy of the Czech Republic for a long time. The brutal murder of Tibor Berki, which was followed by a pre-arranged murder by a group of skinheads in a pub, led to a change in state policy. The victim’s funeral also became a manifestation of Roma and human rights activists against racism. The government subsequently adopted measures that made the fight against extremism more effective. Among other things, since January 1, 1996, there has been at least one police officer specializing in extremism in each district headquarters of the Czech Police. The perpetrators of the act were convicted, but a problem arose when, considering the wording and interpretation of the criminal law at the time, the court of first instance refused to consider the act as racially motivated, pointing out that Roma are not a different race than Czech perpetrators. This caused resentment in the Roma and human rights communities, and subsequently the wording and interpretation of the law changed.
„On 16 May 1995, in connection with the racially motivated brutal murder of Mr. Tibir Berki, a 42-year-old Roma man, Prime Minister Václav Klaus convened a meeting attended by the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Justice, the Minister and Chairman of the Council for Nationalities, the Supreme State Prosecutor, the Chief State Prosecutor, the Director of the Office of Investigation and the Police President. The meeting resulted in the adoption of specific measures falling within the competence of the authorities involved...“
Informace o opatřeních zajišťujících účinnější postup při předcházení a postihu trestných činů a přestupků motivovaných rasovou a národnostní nesnášenlivostí nebo páchaných příznivci extremistických skupín
Ministry of Interrior, Ministry of Justice (1995), Praha: For the meeting of the Government of the Czech Republic
Further Reading / Sources
Ukázková rasová vražda (Vražda Tibora Berkiho v českém tisku). In Homoláč, Jiří – Karhanová, Kamila – Nekvapil, Jiří (eds.), Obraz Romů v středoevropských masmédiích po roce 1989
Homoláč, Jiří (2003), Brno: Doplněk, s. 103–122
Thirtieth anniversary of the Czech courts failing to call the neo-Nazi murder of Romani man Tibor Berki racist, Romani people said the justice system failed them
Kostlán, František – Ryšavý, Zdeněk – Albert, Gwendolyn (2012). Romea
Interetnické konflikty (jejich příčiny a dopady z pohledu teorie a empirických sond)
Štěchová, Markéta et al. (2004), Praha: Institut pro kriminologii a sociální prevenci