Czech Republic’s First Afro Politician Released Early After Rape Convictions ‘Changes’ Him

But in 2023, the Czech Republic’s first ever black member of parliament was convicted of two rapes and one attempted rape. Despite the fact that one of his victims was a minor, he was recently released early – against the protests of the victims.

Dominik Feri in 2014 as an 18-year-old high school student in his hometown of Teplice. That year, he began his political career when he was elected as a member of the city council for the TOP 09 party. Just three years later, in 2017, he was elected to the Czech Republic’s lower house as the country’s youngest and first black member of parliament ever. Photo: DF2015Teplice

A court in Teplice, Czech Republic, decided on May 26, 2026, to conditionally release former member of parliament Dominik Feri, who was once hailed by liberal media as a political rising star because of his skin color. In 2017, he became the first and so far only black person to be elected to the Czech parliament, then for the liberal, pro-EU TOP 09 party. He became involved in the debate surrounding the death of George Floyd in 2020 and pointed to his own experiences of racism in the Czech Republic, wrote about “structural racism”, and also praised the #MeToo movement. However, it was #MeToo that made several women choose to come forward and testify that Feri had behaved as a violent sex offender for several years, which ultimately led to his being sentenced to three years in prison in 2023.

According to the verdict, Feri was guilty of two rapes and one attempted rape. Both rapes took place in his apartment in Prague and consisted of him kissing and groping the women against their will and then performing sexual acts. In one of the cases, the victim was only 17 years old.

The attempted rape took place inside the lower house of the Czech parliament. There, Feri had invited a young woman who was applying for an internship and was interviewed by him. After offering her alcohol, he attacked her in his office.

Despite protests from the victims’ lawyers, the court believes that Feri “changed” during his short time in prison. A statement from a psychologist describes the ex-politician as “balanced”, able to create social relationships and not in any way a threat to society.

During the trials, Feri denied all charges and tried in vain to appeal the verdicts. Nor did he express anything resembling an admission during the release negotiations. Instead, the ex-politician said that he was “very sorry for the harm the victims are experiencing.”

Feri’s victims have stated that they oppose the early release and that they feel anxiety and fear. Feri has commented that as a free man he intends to “address the women’s concerns” about him no longer being locked up.

According to the conditional release, he will be supervised for three years. He must also make a private apology to the victims and participate in a so-called resocialization program.

Was Supposed to ‘Shape Europe’ – Praised for his Skin Color

In 2019, the American Politico wrote a tribute article about Dominik Feri, describing him as a young and charming politician who would take all of Europe by storm.

“Feri is not only the youngest MP in the country’s history. He is the first black parliamentarian – and a striking one at that. He has a bushy Afro and enjoys playing Fats Waller-style jazz piano at local clubs,” wrote the influential online magazine, which that same year named him one of the “28 people who will shape Europe in the coming year.”

Opinion leaders. Portrait of Dominik Feri (center) when Politico listed “28 people who will shape Europe in the coming year” in 2019. Image: Politico

The secret, according to Politico, was how he managed to attract “young voters” with his Instagram account where he spread “enthusiasm for the EU, contempt for the Czech president and prime minister’s illiberal populism, the Czech communists, and the toxic xenophobia of the far right.”

But Politico was not alone in highlighting Feri because of his skin color. The website Black Past described him as “a rock star in European politics and a darling of the press.” The article focuses primarily on his Ethiopian descent and, again, the Afro hairstyle, which, according to the website, “demands attention” in an otherwise relatively ethnically homogeneous Czech Republic.

Feri, however, never became the Czech Republic’s new rising star. Instead, in 2021, he became the Czech Republic’s big #MeToo sensation. Women who came forward testified about everything from harassment to attempted rape and full rapes, which allegedly occurred between 2015 and 2020. Feri then announced that he would resign from the party and leave parliament because he believed in “greater personal responsibility in politics.”

The fact that only three cases were prosecuted has sparked debate in the Czech Republic. Parliament also passed a new law, called “Lex Feri,” which broadened the definition of rape to include situations where the victim is paralyzed and unable to resist.

In June 2024, the Czech Constitutional Court ruled on petitions from five women whose complaints against Dominik Feri had been shelved by police (i.e., the police had decided not to press charges). This was a separate track from Feri’s own conviction for rape and attempted rape of two other victims, which had already resulted in a three-year prison sentence in November 2023.

Of the five, one woman’s case (the fifth alleged victim, then 17) succeeded at the Constitutional Court, which ordered the police investigation reopened. That led to a new trial — but in May 2026, the trial court found the act occurred as described but ruled it didn’t legally qualify as rape under the criminal code in effect at the time (she’d initially consented, but withdrew consent when Feri removed the condom mid-act). The prosecutor has appealed that verdict.

The other four women, whose Constitutional Court petitions were dismissed, took their case to the ECtHR in November 2024. Their lawyer, Adéla Hořejší, argued the Czech state failed to give them adequate protection against sexual violence, with courts reasoning their resistance hadn’t been explicit enough.

Meanwhile Feri himself has exhausted his appeals on the original conviction — the Constitutional Court rejected his final petition for review on 9 July 2025 — and he was released on parole on 26 May 2026 after serving two-thirds of his sentence, following an earlier parole denial in January 2026 where the judge cited his lack of self-reflection and risk of repeat offending.