Constitutional Court rejects Romany’s complaint over forced sterilization

The Czech Constitutional Court rejected on Monday a complaint by a Romany woman who underwent forced sterilization in an Ostrava hospital in 1997. Ms Iveta Červeňáková, who was 21 at the time, complained about a decision by the police to shelve a criminal case against two of the hospital’s physicians. The Court said none of her constitutional rights were infringed by that decision.

Ms Červeňáková was sterilized in the Ostrava Municipal Hospital in 1997, after giving birth to her second child. A local court awarded her 500,000 crowns, or more than 22,000 US dollars, in damages, but a higher court said last year her claim was covered by the statute of limitations.

Author: Jan Richter