Rakušan: Roma family may ask for police help after release of arsonists

The minister of the interior, Vít Rakušan, says a Roma family whose home was firebombed in 2009 can ask for help if they feel threatened again. Two of the four neo-Nazi perpetrators of the arson attack got early release from prison on Tuesday.

Mr. Rakušan said the family were not automatically entitled to police protection but that a way had been found to help them. Police representatives met with them in recent days.

The attack in the Moravian town of Vítkov left three members of the Roma family injured. Then two-year-old Natália was left with burns on 80 percent of her body and without three fingers. She has since undergone over 100 operations.

Author: Ian Willoughby