Dozens protest acquittal of Ukrainian national in death of Romani man

Several dozen people gathered outside the Regional Court in Brno on Sunday to protest the court’s ruling in the case of the death of a Romany man at the Brno dam last year. Earlier this week, the court acquitted a Ukrainian national of charges of manslaughter, ruling that he had acted in self-defense.

The judge said the evidence pointed to the fact that a group of people, including the young Romany, were rowdy and troubling passengers on a tram which led the Ukrainian man to come to their defense and ask the group to calm down. When he got off the tram the group followed and attacked him. The incident has led to tensions between Ukrainians and the local Roma community.

If it were the other way around, no one would recognize it as necessary defence, said one of the Romani protesters.