Govanhill’s Roma Community Holds Vigil for Stanislav Tomáš
A vigil was held on Thursday to commemorate Stanislav Tomáš, a Roma man who died whilst being restrained by police in the Czech Republic, in a case that bears shocking similarities to that of George Floyd.
Content warning: Descriptions of violence.
Image: A musician plays at Thursday’s vigil for Stanislav Tomáš.
By Sam Doak
Members of the local Roma community gathered in front of the Roma Holocaust Memorial on Thursday in remembrance of Stanislav Tomáš, who died whilst being restrained by Czech police on Saturday 19 June.
Following a performance by Roma violinist Janos Lang, speakers at the vigil paid their respects to Tomáš and called for an end to police violence and racism against their community. Both within and outside of the UK, the Roma have long-faced discrimination and experienced poverty at far higher rates than the general population.
The gathering, which was attended by around 30 members of the public, concluded with a moment of silence and the lighting of candles.
A video taken from a nearby window captured the events leading to Stanislav Tomáš’ death last Saturday. It shows Tomáš being held on the ground by three officers, one of whom can be seen kneeling on his neck in spite of concerns being raised by witnesses. The video has been widely shared and has led many to condemn the actions of the Czech police.
Responding to footage of the incident, the Council of Europe called on Czech authorities to investigate the actions of its officers and detail the circumstances that led to Tomáš' death. Amnesty International has also called for an independent investigation to be launched and issued a statement in which it condemned the “disproportionate and therefore unlawful” neck restraint which Tomáš was subjected to.
In the minds of many, the death of Stanislav Tomáš closely parallels that of George Floyd, who was murdered by a Minnesota police officer on 25 May 2020. The similarities between these cases have led some to refer to Tomáš as the ‘Romský Floyd’ and argue that his death is reflective of the widespread persecution faced by Roma communities internationally.
Following the vigil, Greater Govanhill spoke to Rahela Cirpaci, a project coordinator with Romano Lav. Commenting on how Tomáš’s death has affected members of the Roma community, Cirpaci said:
“The last few days have been very hard for the Roma people. It's not easy to see a Roma person being battered down onto the ground like that.”
“We are all just questioning and thinking, is this going to happen to our children? This could happen to any family member. It happened in the Czech Republic but it could happen anywhere else.”
“This event is devastating and we would not like anyone to go through this, no matter where they are from. We would like for the whole community to unite and stand together. We want everyone to speak up. We want the government and the police to tell us what actually happened.”
In spite of what can be seen in video footage of the incident, Czech police have denied responsibility for Tomáš’ death. In a recently released statement, authorities claimed that he was under the influence of drugs at the time of his arrest and that this is what caused his death. Many, however, are not convinced by this account. Speaking on this, Cirpaci stated:
“We don’t know what the real cause was but no matter what, the police shouldn’t have acted this way… it's not their right to take anyone’s life.”
Statement from Romano Lav on the incident:
