THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Human Rights Developments
The Czech Republic had a mixed record on human rights in 1995. The government demonstrated its commitment to human rights by, for example, ratifying the European Convention on the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman Treatment in September. Parliament also passed an amendment to the criminal code on June 29, 1995, under which perpetrators of hate crimes will face tougher sentences. At the same time, however, "skinhead" violence increased and became increasingly brutal, especially against the Roma minority. A restrictive citizenship law, which negatively affects the Roma minority, codified widespread resentment against that minority.

Provisions of the Law of the Czech National Council on Acquisition and Loss of Citizenship, which had granted citizens of the Slovak Republic more favorable conditions than non-Slovak citizens for acquiring citizenship, expired in July 1994. Yet, the government did not resolve the fate of many Roma who were effectively left without Czech citizenship by the law. The Tolerance Foundation, a human rights organization in Prague, has documented more than 400 cases in which Slovak citizens of Roma ethnicity living in the Czech Republic have not been able to acquire Czech citizenship. The majority of those Roma who were denied Czech citizenship are long time or lifelong residents of the Czech Republic.

Although the law does not specifically refer to Roma, its requirements on residence, ancestry, and petty criminality appear to have a disproportionate impact on Roma, and as such are discriminatory. What is more, the law imposes criminal penalties that were not in existence at the time the crime was committed. Those denied citizenship are unable to vote, run for office or receive full social benefits.

There continued to be reports of violent attacks on Roma. In May, four youths armed with a baseball bat forced their way into the home of Tibor Berki, a Roma, in the town of Zdar nad Sazavou. Mr. Berki, a bakery worker, was clubbed to death in front of his wife and five children. On October 7, ten "skinheads" armed with baseball bats attacked and severely injured a Roma couple who were waiting for a bus in Breclav. Approximately thirty Roma have been killed by racist violence in the Czech Republic since the fall of communism in 1989. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki received credible reports that police failed to protect Roma from racist violence and rarely conducted a prompt and thorough investigation into such incidents.

On September 27, the Czech parliament extended the 1991 "lustration law"(screening law) that bans former high-ranking Communist Party officials and secret policemen from holding important political, economic, and judicial posts until the year 2000. The lustration law, which was to have expired at the end of 1996, has affected some 140,000 people since its adoption. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki is concerned that persons prosecuted under the lustration law are not being prosecuted for acts that were criminal at the time they were committed, but for having belonged to a now-discredited group. With regard to evidence provided in the former communist government's police files, the law does not take into consideration the possibility that false information might have been planted. Hundreds of people have protested that they were registered as police collaborators without their knowledge. Many have sued the Ministry of Internal Affairs and won, because there was inadequate evidence of their guilt.

The Right to Monitor
Human Right Watch/Helsinki was not aware of any attempt by the government of the Czech Republic to impede human rights activists in their monitoring activities.

U.S. Policy
Several high-level meetings between representatives of the Czech Republic and United States were held during the year to discuss privately such issues as the citizenship law and its effects on the Roma minority, as well as the extension of the lustration law. The section on the Czech Republic in the State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994 was accurate in reporting on the human rights situation, giving a particularly comprehensive evaluation of abuses against the Roma minority.

The Work of Human Rights Watch/Helsinki
Human Rights Watch/Helsinki's primary concern in the Czech Republic continued to be the treatment of the Roma minority and, in particular, the impact that the citizenship law has on Roma. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki maintained contacts with local human rights organizations throughout the year, especially with regard to the Roma situation.

ENGLAND

Human Rights Developments
Racial violence and police misconduct in responding to racist incidents continued to be a serious human rights concern in England during 1995. Racial violence has increased dramatically in recent years, according to police figures. In the five years between 1989 and 1994, the number of violent attacks rose over 200 percent, from 4,383 to 9,762. It was widely recognized, however, that these reported figures significantly underestimated the actual level of violence. The official British Crime Survey estimated that racially motivated violent attacks for 1991, for example, were as high as 32,500, ranging from intimidation to verbal threats.

The government was outspoken against racial violence and encouraged initiatives by the police, community organizations, and legal organizations to find effective solutions. Positive steps to improve police response to racial violence, however, were offset by significant failures.

In addition to numerous incidents of police brutality, victims and community groups often reported that police were unable or unwilling to respond to racial violence, and that the police sometime threatened those who reported a racist crime or even arrested the victim. Many victims of racist violence ultimately stopped reporting such incidents because the police appeared unable or unwilling to investigate the crimes effectively. As a practical matter, it was sometimes difficult to determine to what degree and in which cases poor response by the police was due to a lack of resources, a lack of professionalism of senior officers, the inexperience of junior officers, a lack of effort, and/or racial bias. However, solicitors, victims, and community groups indicated that in cases where a lack of effort and racism played a clear role, there were few effective means for making the responsible officers accountable for their behavior.

The Right to Monitor
Human Rights Watch/Helsinki received no information to indicate that human rights observers in England were prevented from conducting their investigations and reporting on their findings during 1995.

U.S. Policy
The only significant statement by the U.S. government regarding racial violence in England appears in the State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994. The report highlighted the continuing and substantial problem of racial discrimination throughout the criminal justice system, as well as in areas of employment. However, the report made no reference to police brutality against minority groups or to the inability or unwillingness of many police officers to respond effectively to incidents of racial violence.

The Work of Human Rights Watch/Helsinki

Human Rights Watch/Helsinki focused its efforts during 1994 on monitoring racist violence and investigating the ability of the criminal justice system to respond. In June and July, a fact-finding mission was sent to interview victims of racial violence, community organizations, solicitors, as well as with police and government officials. A report was in preparation as of this writing.