The violent arrest of a member of the Roma minority in the Czech Republic has caused outrage. The man died shortly after Saturday’s police operation in Teplice, North Bohemia, on his way to the hospital. A video has now caused a stir on social media, in which a police officer can be seen pressing the suspect to the ground with his knee on his neck for minutes. By Tuesday, more than 100,000 people had seen it.Representatives of the Roma minority were reminded of the death of black George Floyd in a brutal police operation in the USA. The Czech police do not consider themselves responsible.
According to the police report, the man had demolished cars under the influence of drugs and “the police had to use coercive measures against the aggressive man”. The preliminary result of the autopsy did not prove a connection between his death and the previous police operation. Pathological changes in the coronary vessels had been detected. “No Czech Floyd,” said a spokesman. Czech Interior Minister Jan Hamacek stood behind the police officers involved. They would have his full support, wrote the Social Democrat on Twitter.
The case had highlighted controversial arrest methods such as the stranglehold. “A Rome as Floyd in Teplice today,” said Roma expert Michal Mizigar. “This is the height of brutality,” activist Michal Miko commented on the video.
An estimated 250,000 to 300,000 Roma live in the Czech Republic. They suffer discrimination and social exclusion. Members of the minority have lived in Central Europe for centuries. The spa town of Teplice (Teplitz) is located about 75 kilometers northwest of Prague and about 50 kilometers south of Dresden.
