A Prague appeals court has confirmed the sentence handed down to a tram driver who verbally attacked a Ukrainian family on a city tram last year.
Daniel Bejvl must complete 200 hours of community service, attend a social training program, and pay the couple 55,000 Czech crowns in compensation. The ruling by Prague’s Municipal Court of Appeal is final and cannot be further challenged.
Bejvl has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings and declined to comment after Tuesday’s decision.
What happened on tram 7
The incident took place on February 27 last year, on Prague tram line 7. A Ukrainian couple was traveling with their two-year-old grandson when the child began knocking on the driver’s cabin and jumping on the seats with his shoes on. At the Vršovické nádraží stop, Bejvl stepped out to confront the family, telling them they were “making a mess of the tram.”
When he realized from their speech that they were Ukrainian, he repeatedly told them to get off or he would call the police. He also used the slur “fucking
Ukrainians” and told them they had no right to be in the country. According to the court verdict, he also struck a 63-year-old man in the neck. When the couple disembarked and photographed him, he threatened the woman with a switch pole.
The driver’s version
Before the District Court for Prague 10, Bejvl described his actions as an attempt to ensure passenger safety and orderly operations. He argued that the language barrier made communication difficult and that the child’s grandfather refused to move the boy from the seat to a stroller. He also claimed the passenger had insulted him with vulgar language, and described his own subsequent outburst as a “personal short-circuit.”
He denied both the punch and the threat with the switch pole.
The court’s reasoning
The original charges included both defamation of the nation and disorderly conduct. The courts ultimately convicted Bejvl only on the second count. The bench concluded that while his remarks were offensive, they did not reach the threshold required for the more serious charge.
Both appeals rejected
The prosecution had pushed back, arguing that Bejvl acted out of ethnic hatred and demanding either a conviction for defamation of the nation or a suspended prison sentence, or at minimum an increase in community service hours. Bejvl, for his part, asked the court to downgrade the offense to a misdemeanor or acquit him entirely. The appeals court rejected both requests.
