3 Czech Gypsies jailed for racist assault

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, May 30 (UPI) -- A Czech court said it sentenced three men, members of the Gypsy minority, to four years in jail each for beating a man on racial motives.

The two Gypsies, calling the victim a "white swine," beat the 35-year-old man in a town near Karlovy Vary in western Bohemia, 50 miles west of Prague, in December 2007. The third man, a police officer at the time, was accused of trying to cover up the assault and of obstructing the investigation into the case.

The court did not consider the assault an attempted murder and therefore the judge stopped short of the maximum sentence of 10 years in jail, Prague Radio reported Saturday.

The victim delivered testimony under a witness protection program and will be granted a new identity, the network said.