NCJ Number
146784
Journal
New Statesman Society Volume: 5 Dated: (June 19, 1992) Pages: 15
Date Published
1992
Length
1 page
Annotation
A 17-year-old skinhead gang member who was killed in Prague, Czechoslovakia has become the subject of a public relations campaigns by Czech skinheads who want to portray themselves as kind, but most Prague residents are experiencing increasing social tensions from many sources and are unlikely to accept this image.
Abstract
Ales Martinu was killed by a 38-year-old sculptor who claimed he was acting in self-defense. Like their East German counterparts, Prague's skinheads are enjoying the new freedom and toleration of individuality and have copied many features of Western life. They believe that the attack on Martinu was unprovoked and are trying to portray themselves as less indiscriminately violent than English and German skinheads. One widely published photograph shows grieving skinheads gathered around Ales's open coffin, comforting each other with unnatural tenderness. The accused perpetrator has asked for but not received police protection, and skinheads are regularly attending the trial proceedings. He faces a maximum 12 years in prison if found guilty of manslaughter. However, the victim's father believes that the alleged perpetrator's higher social status will protect him. Overall, Czechoslovakia is experiencing social, economic, and nationalist tensions that threaten to turn the country into another middle European disaster area.