Hatred towards Ukrainians in Czech Republic

Russian disinformation campaigns in the Czech Republic over the past two months have escalated tensions between Czechs and Ukrainians in Czech society. In Iustitia , a Czech non-profit organization that deals with prejudicial violence, has observed an increase in verbal and physical violence against war refugees from Ukraine.

A well-known case was that of a little Ukrainian girl who was abused by some of the children on a school trip because of her origin, and one even spat in her face. According to In Iustitia , war refugees from Ukraine make up approximately 20 per cent of cases, meaning they are the second most at risk in the Czech Republic after LGBT people. Another disturbing feature of this case is that the children often mirror the behavior they see in their families.

In its quarterly report , In Iustitia also reports on the case of a Belarusian woman who has lived in the Czech Republic for over 25 years. The woman was assaulted by an inspector on a Prague tram after she refused to present her ticket to the inspector, who did not follow procedure. According to the report, the inspector “grabbed the woman by her jacket, pulled her and called her names: “Go back to Ukraine!” The case was only solved when the police were called.

The wave of unrest was sparked by an incident in Brno in June in which a fight broke out between Roma people and two other foreigners, presumably from Ukraine. A young Roma man died of stab wounds after one of the foreigners allegedly attacked him with a knife during the altercation. This incident provided the disinformation scene with material for weeks to come. According to security expert Miroslav Mareš of Masaryk University in Brno, this is “an unusual intermingling of an ethnic minority with nationalist and extremist currents. Both are trying to stir up anti-Ukrainian sentiment in connection with the death of the young Roma man.” The NGO Manipulátoři website also points out that extremist political parties and groups such as PRO and SPD have also exploited the act.

It is in this case that experts warn of the radicalization that may occur due to the information vulnerability of this group. The association of some Roma with representatives of the disinformation scene against a common enemy - the Ukrainians - is currently a strong risk.