Prague - The Sparta soccer stadium will now be featuring court room proceedings along with soccer matches. Bringing justice to the stadium to discourage rowdies from violence was an idea of Prague judges and police.
The court will officiate for the first time this Saturday during the match between Sparta Praha and Baník Ostrava. Ostrava's rowdy fans let the Prague opponents know about their presence every time they come, this time about 3,000 people are expected to make their way from the city in Northern Moravia to the capital.
Sentences in vandals' pockets
A team composed of one judge and two public prosecutors will be ready to send violent fans to a impromptu hearing and sentence them during a sped-up process right on the spot.
"A vandalising fan can be leaving the stadium with a sentence in his pocket. Only a few dozen minutes will pass between the announcement of the charge and the sentence," says Jan Sváček, the chairman of the Prague City Court. Penalties can reach up to two years in prison. The court will also be after racist remarks of the audience.
Watching closely, watching online
The accused fans will have ex officio lawyers at their disposal or they will be allowed to call their own lawyer. The judge can even decide to send the rowdy right from the stadium to prison, in extreme cases, or he can decide to send the accused person to the traditional court room. Testimonies of policemen and organizers will be used as proofs. "The judge will also be able to request taped records from the camera system of the stadium," Sváček says.
Even criminal records will be available for the judges as well as other databases. The technical background available in Prague will most likely not be matched by other cities, which would prevent regional stadiums from using the system of mobile court rooms. "Similar facilities that would enable a judge and state prosecutors to work are not available everywhere," said Ivan Smékal of Prague Police.
Innovative mobile judges
The speeded-up processes are being used in cases against rowdy fans already, even though some experts say that they are not used often enough. "It is not a new thing, what is new are the mobile judges and state prosecutors," says Jana Hercegová, the prosecutor of Prague.
The Football Association of the Czech Republic is also happy about the innovation. "We definitely stand behind this decision because we want the stadiums to be safe. We are also trying to push through changes in legislature that we have already discussed in the parliament," says Alexander Károlyi, the chairman of the disciplinary committee of the Football Association.
