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One on OneDavid Cermak - CzechTek highlighted problems in Czech police force
Rob Cameron's guest on One on One is David Cermak, from an initiative to
defend the organisers of the recent CzechTek festival, an event that
rocked the political scene in this country and divided the Czech public.
The police decision to break up CzechTek with force, following complaints
from the owners of neighbouring plots of land, made headlines around the
world, and the event has become a cause celebre.
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Current AffairsSicilian Mafia boss arrested in Czech Republic
The quiet suburb of Krasne Brezno in the town of Usti nad Labem witnessed
something of a drama last week when police arrested one of Italy's most
wanted Mafia bosses. Sicilian Luigi Putrone, sentenced in absentia for a
string of brutal murders, had lived in the town for the last five years.
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Current AffairsSorry boss, my shift's over!
Some stories have "Made in the Czech Republic" stamped all over
them - and make you think "what a pity Franz Kafka isn't around to
hear this one". The following incident really happened in the town of
Mosnov, in the easternmost part of the country. Two police officers who
were chasing a thief allegedly gave up the chase midway because their
shift was over.
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Current AffairsPolice act with impunity, says advocate for alleged victims of brutality in CzechTek crackdown
Scores of mostly young people were injured the last weekend in July as
police in riot gear moved in to break up an annual free techno festival
known as CzechTek. Nearly twice as many police were injured in the
line of duty, but allegations of police brutality have dominated the
headlines. Brian Kenety spoke about the issue with
lawyer Jiri Kopal, whose pro bono organisation is representing several
alleged victims of police brutality at CzechTek and is calling for the
establishment of an independent body to address complaints against the
police. More
Current AffairsCzechTek clashes inspire a latter-day protest song
What has the Czech singer/songwriter, Jaromir Nohavica - singing to the
nothing more than an acoustic guitar - have in common with the endlessly
repetitive rhythms of Techno? The answer is quite simple. Nohavica, famed
for his protest songs going back to the days of communism and his role in
the recent Czech film Year of the Devil, has composed a brand new protest
song. He is responding to last weekend's huge techno-party that ended in
violent clashes between participants and the police, who used tear gas,
water cannon and batons to end the rave. The police intervention has
divided Czech society between those, including the Prime Minister Jiri
Paroubek, who say that the police were simply fulfilling their duty to
preserve law and order and those, including President Vaclav Klaus, and
his predecessor Vaclav Havel, who say that the intervention was vastly out
of scale.
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