The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found multiple violations of the European Convention on Human Rights arising from the death of a Roma man following a police intervention in the Czech Republic, holding that the authorities failed to conduct an effective investigation, used disproportionate force, and failed to examine a possible discriminatory motive.
The case concerned the death of the applicant's brother, who died in June 2021 after being restrained by police officers in a predominantly Roma neighbourhood. Video footage showed one officer kneeling on the man while he lay handcuffed in the prone position for over four minutes. By the time an ambulance arrived, he was unresponsive and had stopped breathing.
The Court found that the investigation into the incident fell short of Convention standards. Initial investigative steps were carried out by a police body lacking institutional independence from the officers involved, while the General Inspection of Security Forces subsequently relied on that evidence when deciding not to pursue a formal investigation. The Court also criticised the authorities' reliance on a forensic report which failed to consider the well-documented risks associated with prolonged prone restraint, particularly where pressure is applied to the back or neck of an intoxicated and restrained individual.
On the substantive limb of Article 2, the Court held that the police intervention placed the deceased at an imminent risk of death. Despite being aware that he was injured and severely intoxicated, the officers restrained him in the prone position for over 11 minutes, with pressure applied to his upper body for more than four minutes. The officers failed to adequately monitor his condition or check his vital signs, and an ambulance could have been called sooner. The Court further found deficiencies in the legal framework governing the use of prone restraint and in police training on its associated risks.
The Court also concluded that the force used against the deceased was disproportionate, amounting to a violation of Article 3.
Addressing Article 14 in conjunction with Articles 2 and 3, the Court held that the authorities had failed to investigate a possible racist motive behind the incident. It noted the intervention took place against a Roma individual in a Roma neighbourhood, the wider context of persistent discrimination against Roma communities in the Czech Republic, and public statements by senior officials dismissing police responsibility shortly after the incident. In those circumstances, the authorities were under a duty to examine whether racial bias, including institutional or unconscious bias, had played a role but failed to do so.
The ECtHR therefore found violations of the procedural aspects of Articles 2 and 3, the substantive rights under Articles 2 and 3, and Article 14 read in conjunction with Articles 2 and 3.