Czech Republic (News source: Romea) -
Romany monthly Romano Vodi as well as a Romany young couple, David Tiser and
Renata, plan to file a complaint against the owner of the Alfa and Arena disco
clubs in Plzen, west Bohemia, because of discrimination against them, the daily
Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes today.
The guards of Alfa nad Arena refused to let David and Renata enter the clubs
because of their race.
David and Renata took part in an anti-discrimination project of MfD and Romano Vodi. The incident was shot by a hidden camera. Romano Vodi head Jarmila Balazova said they will file a complaint in the next days following consultations with lawyers. Lawyer Jan Cerny told the paper he believes that if the plaintiff qualifies that the incident as defamation of race, the guards face up to two years in prison if found guilty.
Police are investigating the case of alleged discrimination. The daily Mlada
fronta Dnes (MfD), in cooperation with the Romany monthly Romano Vodi, shot the
incident with two Romany "provocateurs," who took part in an anti-discrimination
project, by a hidden camera, the paper reported on Monday.
"We are investigating the incident. Police will question the personnel in
both discos as well as the Romany who has reported the case," Plzen police
spokeswoman Michaela Altmannova told the paper.
Police will also investigate the procedure of two policemen whom the Romany
asked for help. They only wrote a report on the case, saying they cannot help
them get to the disco as it is a private property.
A lawyer addressed by the paper said that such an interpretation of the law was
wrong. People running public facilities must let everybody in and cannot select
their guests.
World Music Central
http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/article.php/20050722075312100