Prague tram driver given community service for ejecting Ukrainian family from tram

A former tram driver in Prague who insulted a Ukrainian couple with a child and ejected them from the tram has been sentenced to 200 hours of community service.

As reported by Czech news portal IDNES, the Prague 10 District Court found Daniel Bejvl guilty of disorderly conduct, sentenced him to 200 hours of community service and ordered him to undergo a "social re-education programme" in view of the altercation with the Ukrainian tram passengers in February last year.

The verdict can still be appealed.

Prosecutors initially charged Bejvl with improper conduct and insults based on ethnicity, offences that could have carried a sentence of up to five months in prison.

The incident occurred at a tram stop at the end of February last year. The tram driver pushed the three Ukrainians – an elderly couple and their grandson – out of the vehicle, verbally abused them and, according to the case files, struck the man. The Ukrainian family have lived in Czechia since 2022.

The altercation began after the boy stood on a seat and knocked on the glass partition. In court, the man explained that he had not prevented his grandson from doing so because the child was being taken home from kindergarten in a pushchair and his shoes were clean, and that after the first time the boy knocked on the glass he had told him not to do it again.

The driver then got out of the cabin, told the family off because the child was making a noise and standing on the seat, and ended up accusing them of "soiling the tram", telling them to get out with repeated references to their ethnic origin. Eyewitnesses recorded the incident on video.

The Ukrainian man said that other passengers told them not to get off, but they decided to leave when the little boy became frightened and started crying. Afterwards, the situation nearly escalated into another physical confrontation when the man asked the woman to photograph the tram number and the driver noticed this.

The driver denies attempting to strike anyone and claims that when making the gesture in question he was merely pointing with his finger.

In the two years Bejvl worked, eight complaints were filed against him by passengers, but most were not substantiated. He is no longer employed as a tram driver.

The case of a man accused of assaulting two Ukrainian women is currently being heard in a Czech appeal court.