Constitutional Court upholds compensation ruling for evicted Roma families

The Constitutional Court has upheld a ruling by the Supreme Court in a dispute between the Vsetín town council and a group of Romanies who were evicted from their homes several years ago and relocated to another part of the town. The court ordered the town administration to apologize to the families in question and pay them compensation. The town of Vsetín evicted the families from a house that was in poor condition and had it demolished. The Roma ended up either in container houses in Vsetín or in old houses on the outskirts of town. The procedure drew criticism from the Roma community and human rights activists. The Supreme Court awarded the four families a total of CZK 1.825 million in compensation, which the Vsetín town hall considers unfair.