A man in Teplice attacked a Roma woman and her sister in front of crying children. If they were white children, she wouldn’t have noticed them, said the attacked woman – Romea.cz

Natalie, who was attacked, described being in the park with her young daughter and several other young children from the family. Her sister was with her in the park. “The children were playing with pebbles, they didn’t do anything to anyone, and he started shouting something at my daughter, so I asked him what was bothering him,” the attacked Roma woman described the beginning of the incident to the Romea.cz news website.

The man started cursing her very vulgarly and the women defended themselves against it. “We told him not to talk so rudely in front of the children and he went very close to me. I pushed him away several times, but then he physically attacked me. He slapped me, then he also slapped my sister who went to help me and a fight started. The children were crying and in complete shock,” Natalie described the situation.

“We shouted at the people in the park to call the police. Finally my sister called the police and the man started running. The nurse ran after him for a while, but the little boy started crying terribly, so she came back,” the attacked Roma woman described to Romea.cz.

The police arrived on the scene within about ten minutes. “They took the videos from the people who filmed it and I gave a statement to the police today,” said Natalie. “If they were white children, he wouldn’t have noticed them, but he started shouting directly at my daughter,” added a young Roma woman to Romea.cz.

Police spokesman Kamil Marek confirmed to the news website Romea.cz that the police are investigating the case. “Teplice police officers are investigating the incident for suspicion of criminal activity. The operations officer immediately dispatched a police patrol to the scene. According to the women’s description, the police immediately started a search for the suspicious man, but he disappeared in the building. Camera records were requested and the search for the man’s identity continues,” a police spokesman told Romea.cz.

A short video capturing the incident surfaced on social media. The video shows a crying little girl and an unknown man attacking her mother. The video was made available on the social networking site Facebook last night, the original was subsequently deleted, but it is now spreading further in various groups. The news server Romea.cz has the video available.

The government representative for the affairs of the Roma minority is in contact with the attacked woman

The attacked woman was contacted on Sunday afternoon by the Deputy Chairman of the Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs, Marián Dancso, who accompanied her to the police station today. “Today, the victim gave a statement to the police, who were extremely helpful and offered the woman and her young daughter psychological help,” Dancso told Romea.cz, according to whom the police had announced a nationwide search for the man.

Lucie Fuková, the government commissioner for the affairs of the Roma minority, is also following the case. “I do not yet have detailed information on this matter. After watching the video that is circulating on social networks, I am outraged by this repulsive form of violence, especially in the presence of children,” Lucie Fuková told the Romea.cz news website, adding that she is in contact with the attacked woman through Marian Dancs. “I will continue to monitor the situation,” Fuková added.

The organization ROMEA gave the attacked woman contacts to the organization In IUSTITIA, whose legal assistance as a person likely to be exposed to pre-judicial violence, she can use.