In the Czech Republic, the sentence of a man who attacked a Belarusian with a knife, mistaking him for a Ukrainian, was increased to 15 years in prison
The Supreme Court in Prague has increased the sentence of 41-year-old Petr Zemanek, who last year attacked a Belarusian citizen with a knife, mistakenly thinking that he was Ukrainian. This was reported by Novinky.
In March last year, Zemanek was drinking alcohol near a store in the Prague district of Radotyn. There he heard two men — a Ukrainian and a Belarusian — talking in Russian. The man decided that he was dealing with Ukrainians who spoke Ukrainian, and began to insult them, calling them “stinking Ukrainians” who “need to be beaten and killed.”
Zemanek also spat at one of the men, then took off his pants and showed them his bare buttocks. When the men entered the store, he did not stop his aggression: after they left, he again began shouting that “all Ukrainians must be killed” and “let them go back.”
When asked if he was a fascist or a Nazi, Zemanek answered in the affirmative and demonstrated a Nazi salute. After that, he hit the Belarusian twice, and before leaving, he said, “I’ll kill you, I’ll take a knife and a gun.”
Then Zemanek went to the hostel, took a knife, and returned to look for both men. At that time, they were already at the station waiting for the train.
“Go home, this is the Czech Republic, you have nothing to do here, you idiots, you bastards. I’ll stick a knife in your forehead, you son of a bitch, you have nothing to do here in this country, you worthless,” he shouted, and finally stabbed one of the men in the chest.
The victim was saved thanks to urgent surgery. In court, Zemanek admitted the attack, but denied that he acted because of the men’s ethnicity. The city court agreed and did not recognize the ethnic motive for the crime, although the prosecution requested 16 years in prison.
The first-instance court sentenced Zemanek to 12 years in prison and ordered him to pay the victim almost 300,000 crowns in compensation.
This decision was appealed by both prosecutors and the accused. Zemanek claimed that due to alcohol intoxication he believed he was acting in self-defense. His lawyer argued that in such a state “indirect intent is excluded.” The defense requested that the case be reclassified as negligent bodily harm and the sentence be reduced.
“I am very sorry that I am here at all, that this happened at all, I did not want this. I do not agree with the initial indictment, I would agree with the sentence, but I do not agree that I should be placed in a more severe prison. My priority is to pay the injured party damages as soon as possible and return to normal life as soon as possible,” Zemanek said.
At the same time, the Supreme Court concluded that the crime was committed for ethnic reasons and sentenced Zemanek to a more severe sentence — 15 years in prison.
