2009 Vítkov arson attack

2009 Vítkov arson attack

Part of the Vítkov town square
Location Czech Republic Vítkov, Silesia, Czech Republic
Coordinates 49°46′44″N 17°45′22″E / 49.77889°N 17.75611°E / 49.77889; 17.75611Coordinates: 49°46′44″N 17°45′22″E / 49.77889°N 17.75611°E / 49.77889; 17.75611
Date night of 18 to 19 April 2009
~ 23:45 (UTC+2)
Attack type
Arson
Weapons Molotov cocktail (Euro regular 95 unleaded gasoline)[1]
Deaths 0
Non-fatal injuries
3[2]
Perpetrators Jaromír Lukeš
David Vaculík
Ivo Müller
Václav Cojocaru
Motive Racial (antiziganism)

The Vítkov arson attack of 2009 occurred during the night of 18 / 19 April 2009. Three Molotov cocktails were thrown through the windows of a house inhabited by a Roma family. Three people were injured. The most seriously injured was a three-year-old girl named Natálie, who suffered life-threatening burns on 80% of her body.

Attack

Investigation

Vítkov
Vítkov
Coordinates: 49°46′44″N 17°45′22″E / 49.77889°N 17.75611°E / 49.77889; 17.75611

Before the attack, one of the perpetrators called a friend, who was at a discothèque. Asked about the call by her companion, the girl answered, "He said they are going on gypsies." A volunteer fireman, who was near the two young women in the discothèque overheard the conversation. On the next day he made the connection between the conversation and the arson attack, and contacted the police.[7] The discothèque witness later faced death threats from right wing extremists, as a result of which he refused to testify in court.[8] However the lead was crucial, because investigators were able to identify and tap suspects' telephones, and so start uncovering the background to the attack. The police made no public reference to this lead. Officially they maintained that they had no direct leads, but were following up on the suspicion that the attack might be part of wider campaign of violence orchestrated by leaders of the Czech extreme right, and not an isolated incident. The fireman's contribution would be revealed only after the end of the investigation. The Internal Security Agency provided the police investigators with relevant information very quickly after the attack; as the investigation continued this unusual level of cooperation was maintained.[9] The Agency's annual reports had routinely been flagging up right wing extremist groups as a danger to national security, which explained its long-term close interest in them.

While interviewing one of the suspects (without revealing any exceptional interest in him), police installed a listening device in his car. Later, as the evident lack of police progress caused the suspects to relax, the tapping of this car would prove vital in solving the case.

Perpetrators

David Vaculík

David Vaculík was the only member of the gang who remained silent both through the whole investigation and during the court trial, where he also waived his right to a final speech. According to the prosecution his silence followed the protocol of Combat 18. The media nicknamed him as The Lonely Wolf.[23] Vaculík was the only member of the group who refused psychiatric evaluation designed to identify evidence of pyromania.[24]

Vaculík suffered a minor burn wound on his hand when throwing the Molotov cocktail. Despite being in pain, he avoided visiting a pharmacy, instead asking a friend to buy him a cooling salve.[24]

Vaculík was a supporter of the far-right. He had sent money to the right wing Czech Workers' Party in 2007 and 2008.[25] He was a frequent participant in events and demonstrations organised by far-right groups.[26]

According to the prosecution, the gang used Vaculík's car during the attack.[3]

Vaculík's attorney Petr Kausta claimed that the evidence in the case was obtained illegally, and highlighted some alleged defects in the prosecution case. According to Kausta, the testimonies of other members of the group were mutually contradictory, as were the testimonies of the attacked family members, whose unreliability as witnesses was exacerbated by their own extensive criminal histories. After alleging that prosecution evidence had been unlawfully obtained, Kausta claimed that there remained no reliable untainted evidence that could convict his client. Kausta requested a full acquittal.[27]

Jaromír Lukeš

Jaromír Lukeš was long-term supporter of ultra-right wing politics in the Czech Republic, with ties to the neo-Nazi organisations "National Resistance" and "Autonomous Nationalists". He participated actively in the activities of the far-right Workers' Party which, having been effectively dissolved in February 2010, remains the only political party to have been banned in the Czechoslovak/Czech Republic since the fall of communism in 1989.[28] Lukeš also sponsored some of the party's demonstrations.

Lukeš was described in his indictment as a "reckless selfish fellow". When living with Ms. Šanovská, the mother to one of his children, he "used to spend most of his time in pubs with friends". In the summer of 2008 he left his job and continued to live on welfare, while his partner was receiving maternity benefits. Later, after Lukeš lost the right to receive welfare, he lived off his partner, who in turn was wholly dependent on welfare and maternity benefits. Ms. Martikanová, the mother of his other child, described him as a jobless homeless person, who had never taken care of his daughter. It was a third girlfriend, Zuzana Osadníková, who called him on the night of the attack, and whose reply "they are going on gypsies" was overheard by a volunteer fireman. This had led the investigators to target Lukeš' group.[29]

According to the prosecution it was Lukeš who had selected the target of attack. He lived in the municipality of Radkov, only eight kilometers (5 miles) from Vítkov, and was also a trainee cook/waiter, enrolled in a course at a Vítkov college. According to one of his extremist friends, Lukeš was a simple man, "the executor who would do anything he is told to do in order to gain admiration". Lukeš confessed to being present during the attack. However he denied attempting to kill anyone and he also denied being an extremist.[30] According to suspect Müller, Lukeš was the one who brought the whole idea of the attack to the members of the group.[31]

The public outcry which followed the attack had been accompanied by public condemnation from the President and Prime Minister, both of whom called for the perpetrators to be sought and convicted: this was totally unexpected by Lukeš. Lukeš became very frightened and nervous.[28]

Lukeš, who suffers from a slight speech disorder, remained silent for the most of the trial. In his final speech, he said that he felt himself to be a victim of a political trial. He has never shown regret for the arson attack, nor apologized to the victims.[32]

Lukeš' attorney Pavel Pěnkava asserted that his client was neither a neo-Nazi nor a co-author of the attack. He asked, without success, that Lukeš' actions to be tried not as a racially motivated attempted multiple murder, but as an offence under the bodily harm provision of the Criminal Code. This, following a conviction, would have reduced the available punishments to a prison term of 3–10 years of imprisonment. That would have been a much milder range of sentences than that available for the crimes alleged by the prosecution, and under which the court did convict Lukeš.[32]

Ivo Müller

Ivo Müller was another frequent participant in events and demonstrations by Czech far-right groups,[26] despite having a name that is not Czech but German. Some years before the attack he had sponsored a demonstration of National Resistance in Bruntál. He had known Vaculík and Cojocaru since grammar school.[28]

Müller's former teacher testified that neither Müller nor Vaculík had any issues with Roma schoolmates, but on the contrary: they were friendly towards them.[28]

Müller cooperated with the investigation and pleaded guilty to throwing the Molotov cocktail. However, he claimed that he was told by Lukeš that the targeted house was not inhabited, and that it was merely a storehouse of stolen goods.[28] In his final speech, Müller said: "I did not expect (the attack) to have such a catastrophic outcome. I want to apologize to the families of Sivák and Malýs. I regret that such a little child was injured."[32]

Müller's attorney Markéta Políšenská claimed that racially motivated attempted multiple murder charges were unfounded. She submitted that her client's act should be judged either as "endangering the public" or as "causing bodily harm".[32]

Václav Cojocaru

Václav Cojocaru, age 21, was the youngest of the group members. He also had a record of taking part in events organized by Czech far-right groups[26] despite having a non-Czech surname. (Cojocaru is a common Romanian surname.) He claimed that he has joined the neo-Nazi scene "because he liked the clothes they wear".[28] He was also a collector of WWII memorabilia.[33]

When younger, Cojocaru had been a member of the Scouts. A Scout leader described him as a "nice boy", who never had any issues with other children, including the Roma ones. When Cojocaru became a Scout leader, he had Romani children in his group and was perfectly friendly towards them.[28]

Cojocaru confessed to throwing one of the bottles, and to having provided fuel, a lighter and one of the glass bottles. However, he claimed that he had no idea what the group was up to.[28]

Cojocaru apologized for the act, but the prosecutor described his regret as insincere.[34]

Cojocaru's attorney Ladislav Myšák claimed that there was no evidence supporting the prosecution's charge of racially motivated attempted multiple homicide. According to him the attempted homicide charges were based merely on speculation, and he therefore requested "just punishment" for Cojocaru.[32]

The house

Most of the family had been squatting in the house since 1983: Pavel Kudrik joined the rest of them in 1999.[35] Ownership of the house had become unclear following the ethnic expulsions of 1945 and the subsequent departure of Russian troops 45 years later. Only days before the arson attack six different people, all of them living in Germany, officially inherited the house. The attacked family supposedly had no idea about the inheritance proceedings, which had lasted for seven years. The new owners had indicated no particular interest in owning the property. They wanted it to be transferred directly to the ownership of a church, but this was impossible under Czech law.[36] First the title needed to be transferred to them: only then they would be able to donate it.

The attacked family supposedly believed that the house had been purchased by their great-grandmother 40 years earlier for a price of 2000 crowns (less than 100 USD), but no such valid transfer could be evidenced.[36] The ruin of the house rendered it unstable and its remains had therefore to be torn down.[37]

Victims

The most severely injured of the victims was Natálie Kudriková, aged 3, who suffered second and third degree burns over 80% of her body, and lost two of her fingers at the time of the attack. Later a third finger had to be surgically removed.[38] She will probably never be able to grasp objects with her right hand, which was burned more severely than the left. According to expert witness Igor Dvořáček, the many long lasting anaesthesia doses necessary for her treatment have also caused minor mental retardation.[39] The head of Vinohrady Hospital in Prague Burn Trauma Centre, Ludomír Brož, testified that burns sixteen times less extensive than those suffered by Natálie can threaten a child's life.[40] She spent three months in an induced coma and a further five months in the hospital, during which time she underwent numerous plastic surgery operations, 20 of them being major ones. During the treatment she almost died three times, surviving only thanks to medical apparatus. She is the first child with such extensive burn wounds to have survived in the Czech Republic.[41] In 2009 alone, the insurance company[42] paid over 6 million CZK (about 340,000 USD) for Natálie's treatment. The insurance company will recover the debt from the convicted perpetrators if they have the money, but their ability to pay such an amount is currently next to null.[43]

Natálie's mother, Anna Siváková, aged 27, suffered burns on 30% of her body.[38] She spent 10 days at the intensive-care unit of the University Faculty Hospital in Ostrava,[44] and was released from hospital after three weeks.[45] The defense challenged her testimony because when she testified in court she was heavily under the influence of psychoactive drugs[46] (prescribed by her psychiatrist after the attack). The attackers' lawyers also made much of her own extensive criminal history. She had been convicted eight times.[47]

Siváková's partner, Pavel Kudrik, aged 33, suffered burns on his hands and back.[38] He was released from hospital after 11 days.[48] Initially treated in Opava, he was transferred to a different hospital after police found out that Kudrik was himself "on the run" and should have been behind bars at the time of the attack. His most recent conviction was for driving without a license. Mr Kudrik's criminal history included 14 convictions.[47] After spending three days in prison, Kudrik was released on the President's order,[49] later receiving a full Presidential pardon.[50]

Siváková's mother, Vlasta Malá, was also living in the house. She did not suffer any injuries. After the attack she claimed that she had heard shouts of "Burn gypsies!" The defense challenged her testimony, citing differences between what she had told the investigators and what she testified at the court. Malá reacted by saying "Why should such details matter? They burned us!"[51] However, Malá's own record included four criminal convictions,[47] one of them for an assault on a public official.[35]

Václav Malý, Malá's husband, was also living in the house. Malý was not injured, but he claimed damages for a very wide variety of consumer electronics he had stored in the house. The defense challenged this and asserted that the house was being used to store stolen goods, which Malý denied.[35] Malý had been convicted 12 times.[47]

Vlasta and Václav Malý helped three children, who were living in the house with Siváková, to escape the fire. Neither the Malýs nor the three children were hurt in the attack.[35]

Response

The attack became one of the main issues discussed by the Czech media. The first reaction and the trial sentences were covered as headline news and closely observed. Many prominent figures, not only ones actively involved in the area of racism or with ethnic minorities, were expressing their opinions and comments on internet or the press outlets.

Pavel Smolka, mayor of Vítkov, stated the family were sociable, had lived in the house for 27 years, and that the attack was incomprehensible for him. He also said the town hadn't had any extremist attacks against Roma until this one.[52][53]

Czech President, Václav Klaus, called the attack raw and repulsive crime and demanded exemplary punishment for the perpetrators. Czech Prime Minister, Mirek Topolánek, expressed his concern over the rising extremism and stressed the importance of fighting it. The minister of finance, Miroslav Kalousek, and the minister for human rights and minorities, Michael Kocáb, agreed on the attack to be a terrorist act.

The attack was sharply condemned by the Czech Roma organizations like Dženo, ROMEA, Slovo 21 and the Association of Roma in the Northern Moravia as a hideous and cowardly act. Also, these organizations organized watch patrols in order to protect other families, they criticized the sluggishness of both the Czech state organs and politicians, stating that these lead to the surge of extremist movements in the country, called the public for active opposition to Neo-Nazism and extremism in the Czech Republic and implored the Roma community not to get drawn into any provocations.[54]

See also

References

  1. "Žháři z Vítkova naplnili zápalné lahve benzinem Natural 95" (in Czech). idnes.cz. April 26, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  2. Dražanová, Adéla; Topič, Petr (April 19, 2009). "Dům na Opavsku zapálily Molotovovy koktejly, vážně popálily malé dítě" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "DOKUMENT: Skutková věta obžaloby v kauze žhářského útoku ve Vítkově" (in Czech). novinky.cz. May 11, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  4. Prokop, Dan (April 19, 2009). "Topolánek i Klaus odsoudili útok na Romy. Vláda bude jednat o extremismu" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  5. 1 2 Třeček, Čeněk (April 30, 2009). "Do měsíce budeme znát útočníky z Vítkova, věří policejní prezident" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  6. 1 2 Baďura, Jaroslav (May 15, 2009). "Policie o pátrání po žhářích z Vítkova mlčí, ale je optimistická" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  7. Baďura, Jaroslav; Hana, Válková (May 19, 2010). "Vítkovské žháře pomohl odhalit dobrovolný hasič. Nahlásil, co slyšel" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  8. Třeček, Čeněk; Baďura, Jaroslav (May 20, 2010). "Hasič ze strachu nesvědčil proti žhářům, extremisté hrozili jeho známým" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  9. Eichler, Pavel (August 22, 2009). "Předali jsme policii užitečné informace, promluvila BIS v kauze Vítkov" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  10. Třeček, Čeněk (May 27, 2009). "Policie vypátrala podezřelé tmavé auto z Vítkova. Žháře ale nevezlo" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  11. Třeček, Čeněk (July 15, 2009). "Policie vyslechla na 600 lidí, žháře z Vítkova ale stále nezná" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  12. Eichler, Pavel (July 28, 2009). "Žháři z Vítkova kriminalistům "mizí v mlze", možná navždy" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  13. Třeček, Čeněk; Šťastný, Jiří (July 13, 2009). "Policie kvůli žhářskému útoku ve Vítkově zatkla tucet extremistů" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  14. Třeček, Čeněk; Šťastný, Jiří (July 14, 2009). "Policie obvinila za útok ve Vítkově čtyři extremisty z pokusu o vraždu" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  15. Eichler, Pavel (January 25, 2010). "Policie uzavřela žhářství ve Vítkově, obvinění čekají na obžalobu" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  16. Třeček, Čeněk; Baďura, Jaroslav (May 12, 2010). "Chtěli jsme jen zapálit sklad, brání se žháři z Vítkova doživotí" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  17. According to the Czech Penal Code valid at the time the exceptional penalty was fifteen to twenty-five years' imprisonment. It may be carried out for crimes for which it is explicitly indicated by the code, one of them being aggravated murder (and attempted aggravated murder) and (cumulative) if the danger of the act for society is very high or if the possibility of rehabilitation of the offender is very low. See §29 of Trestní zákon Col. 140/1961 (Czech)
  18. The standard length of attempted aggravated murder was twelve to fifteen years of imprisonment, see §219 art. 2 of Trestní zákon Col. 140/1961 (Czech)
  19. Honus, Aleš (October 5, 2010). "Žalobkyně navrhla třem žhářům z Vítkova výjimečné tresty" (in Czech). novinky.cz. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  20. Honus, Aleš; Novy, Petr (October 20, 2010). "Tři žháři z Vítkova dostali trest 22 let vězení, čtvrtý 20 let" (in Czech). novinky.cz. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
  21. Štos, Jakub; Zelený, Petr (March 18, 2011). "Soud snížil jednomu z vítkovských žhářů trest, zbylým třem zůstaly" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
  22. "Czech Supreme Court upholds sentences for attack on Romanies". Česká tisková kancelář. December 28, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  23. Baďura, Jaroslav (October 6, 2010). "Soud se žháři slyšel "americkou" obhajobu. Osamělý vlk mlčel" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  24. 1 2 Baďura, Jaroslav (May 25, 2010). "Žháři z Vítkova nejsou duševně narušení ani pyromani, tvrdí psychiatr" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  25. "David Vaculík, podezřelý v kauze Vítkov, byl sponzorem Dělnické strany" (in Czech). ct24.cz. August 8, 2009. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  26. 1 2 3 Melichar, Martin (September 8, 2009). "Žháři z Vítkova jsou s ultrapravicí spojeni dlouhodobě" (in Czech). lidovky.cz. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  27. Baďura, Jaroslav; Třeček, Čeněk; Zelený, Petr (October 5, 2010). "Soud se žháři z Vítkova je ve finále, třem hrozí výjimečné tresty" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Třeček, Čeněk (May 21, 2010). "Hodní kluci, popisovaly u soudu žháře učitelka i skautská vedoucí" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  29. Válková, Hana (May 25, 2010). "Výpovědi odkryly nitra žhářů: v soukromí slaboši, ve Vítkově siláci" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  30. Sasínová, Petra (August 20, 2009). "Kauza Vítkov: Obviněný Lukeš byl horlivý, schopný všeho" (in Czech). aktualne.cz. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  31. Baďura, Jaroslav (May 11, 2010). "Obžalovaný za žhářství: Útok ve Vítkově vymyslel Lukeš, chtěl se asi zviditelnit" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 Weikert, Petr (October 6, 2010). "Obžalovaný v kauze Vítkov: Celé mi to připadá jako politický proces" (in Czech). ihned.cz. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  33. Motýl, Ivan (August 8, 2009). "Matka obviněného žháře: Miloval armádu, ale neublížil by" (in Czech). tyden.cz. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  34. Honys, Aleš (October 6, 2010). "Rodiče Natálky lhali, nechali dceru v hořící místnosti, uvedl obhájce" (in Czech). novinky.cz. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  35. 1 2 3 4 "Sedmý den líčení se žháři z Vítkova" (in Czech). novinky.cz. May 20, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  36. 1 2 Honus, Aleš (April 21, 2009). "Vypálený dům ve Vítkově zdědilo pár dní před útokem šest Němců" (in Czech). novinky.cz. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  37. Karban, Pavel (May 21, 2009). "Radnice nechá strhnout spálený dům ve Vítkově, majitelé zaplatí později" (in Czech). novinky.cz. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  38. 1 2 3 Radová, Markéta; Bartosz, Jakub (April 29, 2009). "O přežití popálené holčičky z Vítkova rozhodnou příští dva dny" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  39. Baďura, Jaroslav (September 14, 2009). "Natálka trpí psychickou retardací, zřejmě z opakovaných anestezií, říká znalec" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  40. Němcová, Barbora (September 17, 2009). "Lékař: Dítě ohrožují šestnáctkrát menší popáleniny, než má Natálka" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  41. "Dvouletou Natálku propustili domů, v nemocnici strávila třetinu života" (in Czech). ihned.cz. December 2, 2009. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  42. In the Czech Republic all citizens are insured: insurance for children and students up to 26 years old is paid by the state, worker's insurance is paid by employee, insurance for the registered unemployed is paid by the state, while unregistered unemployed must finance their own insurance
  43. Petrášová, Lenka; Baďura, Jaroslav (December 3, 2009). "Léčba Natálky stála už šest milionů, pojišťovna je bude chtít po žhářích" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  44. Baďura, Jaroslav (April 29, 2009). "Popálená žena z Vítkova se poprvé od útoku setkala s dětmi" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  45. Baďura, Jaroslav (May 5, 2009). "Popálená holčička bojuje o život, rodina z Vítkova o důstojné bydlení" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  46. Baďura, Jaroslav (September 15, 2009). "Matka Natálky vypovídala pod psychofarmaky, namítá obhajoba žhářů" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  47. 1 2 3 4 "The final statement of defendant's attorney JUDr. Petr Kausta" (in Czech). ceskatelevize.cz. October 5, 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  48. Havlíčková, Iva (April 30, 2009). "Kudrik opouští nemocnici, policie je žhářům na stopě" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  49. Wirnitzer, Jan (April 23, 2009). "Otec popálené holčičky z Vítkova díky prezidentovi opustil věznici" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  50. "Rekord Václava Klause: K výročí 17. listopadu udělil 43 milostí" (in Czech). ihned.cz. November 16, 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  51. Perdoch, Jaroslav (May 20, 2009). "ON-LINE: Rodiče Natálky popisovali ohnivé peklo" (in Czech). moravskoslezsky.denik.cz. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  52. (Czech)http://aktualne.centrum.cz/domaci/zivot-v-cesku/clanek.phtml?id=635128
  53. (Czech)http://zpravy.idnes.cz/dum-na-opavsku-zapalily-molotovovy-koktejly-vazne-popalily-male-dite-1eu-/krimi.asp?c=A090419_093447_krimi_top
  54. (Czech)http://aktualne.centrum.cz/clanek.phtml?id=635201

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.