Prague, Sept 19 (CTK) – Czech police have levelled accusations against five young men who are suspected of spraying Nazi symbols and threats on the walls of Prague cafes and shops that participate in the HateFree campaign, police spokesman Tomas Hulan told CTK on Monday.
The perpetrators may face up to three years in prison if found guilty of harming other people’s property and supporting a movement aimed at suppressing the human rights and freedoms, Hulan said.
Apart from the Hate Free cafes and shops, the vandals also defaced a metro vestibule in central Prague, he said.
Defaming inscriptions such as Death to HateFree, and neo-Nazi symbols were sprayed on the buildings’ facades in the night to April 24.
After assessing them, experts concluded that the texts and symbols clearly express support for neo-Nazi movements, which, on their part, claim adherence to the Third Reich and Nazi Germany, Hulan said.
The HateFree Culture group was established by the government Agency for social inclusion in 2013 and has been subsidised by the EU funds and Norway grants.
Its goal is to react to displays of hatred on the Internet and in everyday life. A symbol of the initiative is a pink sticker with white letters which the shops involved put on their doors or shopwindows.
The vandals evidently focused on the HateFree shops in reaction to the owners’ position of tolerance towards minorities and refugees.
