PHOTO: Richard Samko/Romea.cz
The Regional Court in Brno acquitted a man of Ukrainian origin of charges in the case of the death of a Romani man who died last year after a fight at the Brno dam, saying it was not a criminal offense, but a necessary defense. Thirty-seven-year-old Roman Rogozin faced a murder charge carrying a maximum sentence of 18 years in prison. The prosecutor eventually proposed a sentence of around five years in prison for manslaughter and battery. The defense attorney suggested acquittal. The man had earlier denied guilt, saying it was self-defense. The case led to tensions between Ukrainians and Roma last June.
"The conduct, as proven, does not show the elements of a crime. The act happened differently than described in the indictment," said Dita Řepková, the chair of the panel. The indictment described the actions of the victims, then the actions of the man the prosecutor originally accused of murder. "We consider that the actions of the defendant, as proved, show the characteristics of necessary defence as envisaged in our Criminal Code. It is true that there was bodily injury and death to a young person. It is a misfortune. On the other hand, we will not criminalize conduct that does not in some way fall outside what the law allows us to consider as necessary defence," the Chief Justice said.
The prosecutor, Petr Bejšovec, stated that he proceeded to the reclassification from murder to manslaughter based on the testimony of expert witnesses in the fields of psychiatry and psychology. "I have concluded that the conditions are fulfilled for him to have acted in considerable agitation and fear. I emphasized this in my closing argument and motion," Beyshovec said. He said he would study the draft decision in detail and evaluate his next course of action on that basis. He added that even though it should not have been, the case had aroused national passions. "The crime in question in no way had any nationalistic overtones. And in any case, let's not look for any such thing. In this particular case, it was an unfortunate incident," Bejšovec said.
SUMMARY OF EVENTS
Roman Rogozin, a native of Ukraine, was facing murder charges in the case after a young Romani man died after being hit with a knife. The incident happened on 10 June 2023 at around 19:40 on the sidewalk connecting the public transport stop Přístaviště and Přístavní Street. Rogozin was on his way on the tram when he got into an argument with a group of people who, according to witnesses, were making noise and whom he was trying to calm down. The situation escalated into a conflict that left a 23-year-old man dead and two others injured by knives, with Rogozin also suffering injuries.
During closing arguments, the prosecutor changed the legal classification from murder to manslaughter. He also proposed a sentence of around five years in prison for the defendant for battery. The Regional Court in Brno eventually acquitted Rogozin of the charges, saying it was not a criminal offence but a necessary defence. "The conduct, as proven, does not show the signs of a crime. The act happened in a different way than described in the indictment," said Dita Řepková, chairwoman of the panel.
Witnesses testified in different ways in court. According to the victims, Rogozin began shouting at them and threatening them, so they attacked him and punched him after he got off the tram. "We were riding in a carriage, we were smoking, music was playing, a group of about 15 to 16. Then we got out and attacked the gentleman," one of the victims described the situation last December, saying Rogozin was aggressive and pointed his fists at the group.
According to the second victim, Rogozin was punched several times after getting off the tram. According to him, there was drinking and smoking on the tram. "Mr. defendant shouted at us, what are we doing, he pointed his fist at us. We got out, he was walking opposite us towards the Port. He stabbed me, got one fist, also from two others," another victim described the conflict. They then walked along the road, where he said the conflict continued. However, he did not know that the defendant had pulled out a knife; the victim was allegedly stabbed from behind by the defendant.
Rogozin told the court that he was acting in self-defense when he was attacked. He said a group of three people attacked him after he got off a tram to go to a fireworks display at the dam. He said they made noise on the tram and he asked them to stop. He said that he pulled out the knife to defend himself and that he did not even know that he had hit someone with it. A woman who rode on the tram with Rogozin testified that the man admonished the group on the tram without any aggression. They then began to beat him at the bus stop.
One witness who rode the tram in January said a group of young men were making noise and playing loud music. "It started to escalate when we got off," the man said. According to him, there was a scuffle between the group and the defendant, and there were some fist fights. Moments later, the scuffle flared up again when the man jumped over the railing at the bus stop and went after Rogozin. "The whole conflict started again, the shoving and fistfighting started, I can't say what all was there," the witness said.
Police arrested Rogozin shortly after the crime and on 13 June the court sent him to custody, citing possible flight. He spent more than two months in custody. The Brno City Court first decided to release him from custody in July, but the prosecutor filed a complaint against the decision. In August, the regional court upheld the decision of the first instance court. According to the city court, the material conditions of detention had been significantly weakened. It was replaced by a written promise by the accused and supervision by a probation officer.
In October, prosecutors charged Rogozin with murder and battery. The Regional Court in Brno began hearing the case in mid-December, and further hearings were held in January. It heard witnesses and experts in three sessions, and the judge read out documentary evidence. The closing arguments were originally scheduled for 1 March, as was the verdict. However, due to the judge's illness, the hearing was cancelled and postponed for three weeks.
Soon after the young man's death, hatred toward Ukrainians began to spread among parts of the Romani community, and the incident on 10 June last year also sparked riots in Brno. A week after the crime, about 1 000 people came to the area in front of the Janáček Theatre in Brno to remember the dead Roma man. The commemoration was in the spirit of an anti-government demonstration, although it was supposed to be a peaceful meeting and the planned demonstration was cancelled. In Prague that afternoon, around forty people gathered for a joint happening.
Conflicts between Romani people and Ukrainians also occurred elsewhere last summer. On 1 July, for example, police in Pardubice intervened in a fight involving apparently 18 people. One of the participants in the conflict was slightly injured. Hundreds of Romani people protested in Pardubice the following day, demanding security. Last December, two Romani men who took part in a mass skirmish with Ukrainians in early July were sentenced to 150 and 200 hours of community service. The court gave the Ukrainians a suspended sentence of seven months with a probationary period of 1.5 years.
The tragic brawl in Brno has already been dealt with by the Municipal Court in Brno, where two injured Romani men are facing charges of rioting. At the end of January, the court punished them with a criminal warrant for verbally and physically assaulting Rogozin after he got off the tram. They caused him bruises and contusions. According to iDNES.cz, both were given suspended sentences - one of seven months imprisonment suspended for 20 months, the other ten months suspended for two years.
The tension following the death of the Romani youth was also addressed in the Czech Interior Ministry's report on extremism for the second half of last year. According to the report, disinformation agents tried to escalate the situation between Romani people and Ukrainians, purposely posing as defenders of Romani rights to do so. Some Romani influencers who express their views in live broadcasts on social media have also contributed to the radicalization of part of the Romani community. However, some personalities in the Romani community have tried to defuse the tensions, the ministry said.
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