The number of people accused in connection with extremism in the Czech Republic last year rose by a half against 2008, according to a report Interior Minister Martin Pecina will submit to the government on Tuesday.
The number of extremist crimes rose by more than one fifth last year, but the share of this type of crime in overall criminality is still minimal and constitutes a mere 0.07 percent, the report says.
The police uncovered 265 criminal offences with an extremist subtext last year, compared with 217 in 2008.
The number of prosecuted persons also rose, from 195 to 293.
The police presidium said previously the higher figures may be due to that the police more focus on these crimes of late.
The perpetrators of these crimes were mainly people aged 21 to 39.
Last year, the police registered a higher number of secondary school and university graduates among the perpetrators for the first time last year, the report says.
It adds, however, that it is not possible to speak about any trends on the basis of the figures.
The report says the activities of leftist extremists unlike rights extremists were only marginal.
The most visible groupings last year were the unregistered National Resistance and the Autonomous Nationalists, the civic association Workers' Youth, and the Workers' Party political party.
The report says the most serious case last year was the arson attack on the house of a Romany family in Vitkov, north Moravia, in which three people were injured.
The most serious injuries were received by a two-year-old girl who suffered third-degree burns to 80 percent of her body.
The four perpetrators of the attack go on trial on May 1.
Prague Monitor