Dominik Feri

Feri was born in Kadaň, northwestern Bohemia, and grew up in Teplice District. His mother is from eastern Bohemia, and Feri is also partly of Ethiopian origin. From 2007 to 2015 he studied in a grammar school in Teplice. His first appearance in media was because of his public activities in Teplice. ==Political career==

During the municipal elections in 2014 he was an independent candidate on the candidate list of liberal-conservative party TOP 09 to the Council of Representatives in Teplice. Although he wasn't elected, he became a first deputy candidate for that office, despite his young age. After the leader of the candidate list Petr Měsíc resigned, Feri took the office and became one of nine members of the City Council, which was led by mayor Jaroslav Kubera. In May 2015 he joined the TOP 09 Party. German magazine Die Welt considered Feri to be a successful and promising pro-European politician. In April 2019, Feri was involved in a scuffle at a wine tasting event in Boršice, Moravia. Feri told media that the alleged attackers had shouted at him "niggers do not belong in politics", however this allegation was not repeated during the formal police investigation. Criminal proceedings against the suspects, who paid Feri CZK 1,000 (~ USD 40) in damages for a torn shirt, were conditionally suspended, i.e. concluded without conviction. In 2019, Feri was named on the Politico 28 list of people most likely to shape European future, which noted that "it's not easy being young and black in the Czech Republic". ==Rape allegations==

In late May 2021, Feri was accused of sexual assault and rape by eight women, whose names were kept secret by the online publishing websites and Deník N. This story was published in the two online newspapers after a discussion was started by an anonymous Twitter account, where many participants wrote about Feri being aggressive to women, in many cases demanding sexual intercourse. As was stated in Czech media, these alleged assaults and sexual offense cases took place between 2015 and 2020. A number of unnamed sources cited in the articles noted that Feri's behavior had been known in his social circles for an extended period of time. Feri subsequently announced his resignation and withdrawal from the 2021 Czech parliamentary election, and left TOP 09, his political party. More women came forward after the initial articles were published. This led to further allegations of Feri's sexual misconduct being published in early June 2021 by the two sites. Names of the accusers were again withheld. While the accusers in the previous article described use of force, one of the new accusers alleged that Feri had used a date rape drug on her. The testimonies portrayed a pattern of behavior whereby Feri, who had over 1.1 million online followers, would contact young women, some of them underage, often living far away from Prague, through social media for a friendly meeting or a party. The girls, dazzled by his VIP persona, would voluntarily accept the invitation, sometimes after weeks of persuasion. Initially friendly meetings with Feri, who was well known for his support for Me Too movement, with talks focused on politics or societal issues, would allegedly later turn violent and end in either sexual assault, rape, or successful escape. ==First rape trial==

Charges and indictment After the newspaper articles were published, the Police of the Czech Republic opened an investigation into the case. In March 2022, Feri was charged with multiple counts of rape and attempted rape. As one of the alleged rape victims was only seventeen years old, Feri was charged also with rape of a child (the age of consent in the Czech Republic is 15), which carries a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment. Feri was indicted on 13 December 2022. The District State Attorney Office for Prague 3 stated that the indictment was for two counts of rape and one count of attempted rape, without specifying which of the three counts concerned the child. Feri commented: "I welcome the fact that after a nearly two-year wait, I will be able to present evidence to the court proving my innocence. Until now, I have not been able to comment publicly on the ongoing proceedings in any substantive way, which has resulted in the media being reduced to one-sided statements. However, this is about to finally change." Trial Charges and defense Dominik Feri's rape trial commenced on 14 February 2023. Before entering the court room, Feri named one the accusers in cases which had been dismissed by the prosecution, for which he was condemned by journalists and politicians alike. In order to protect the privacy of the victims, the senate decided to exclude the public during their witness statements as well as during the presentation of expert opinions. The trial continued on 16 February 2023 with statements of the alleged victims No. 2 and 3, as well as a presentation of expert opinions. The public was excluded from the courtroom for the day. The trial continued in April 2023, and then adjourned to November 2023. Sentencing On 2 November 2023, Feri was found guilty as charged and sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay a total of 510,000 CZK (22,000 USD) monetary compensation to the three victims. Appellate decisions Municipal Court in Prague During a public hearing held on 22 April 2024 the Municipal Court in Prague dismissed Feri's appeal. The conviction thus became final. Supreme Court On 18 December 2024, the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic rejected Feri's motion for review of the case. Constitutional Court decision On 9 July 2025, the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic refused Feri's petition for review of the case, dismissing his claim that he was denied a chance to properly defend self in the proceedings, stating that he was given opportunity by the courts to comment on all relevant issues of the case. The decision was published under No. II.ÚS 951/25. Imprisonment In late May 2024, Feri received summons to prison. He was ordered to start serving his prison term by 27 May 2024 at the latest. Feri entered Teplice prison on 26 May 2024. At the beginning of November 2024, Feri was transferred to Pankrác Prison Hospital after he used a razor blade belonging to an HIV-positive inmate, so that he could receive a preventative HIV treatment. On 15 January 2026, the denied Feri's motion for conditional release after serving half of the sentence. Judge Jaroslav Malchus held that Feri has not shown any self-reflection, and that there is a reason to believe that if he were again in a position of power, Feri would repeat his criminal behaviour towards women. Feri filed appeal against the decision. ==Second rape trial==

On 12 June 2024, the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic delivered decision II. ÚS 527/23 regarding petitions of five further alleged victims who had claimed that their constitutional rights were violated by police decision not to charge Feri in connection with their rape claims. The Court dismissed four of the petitions, stating that although sexually predatory, Feri's conduct didn't amount to criminal definition of rape. At the same time, the Court ruled in favor of the fifth alleged victim and nullified the police decision on conclusion of the investigation. In this case, the 17-year-old victim alleged that she had first engaged in voluntary intercourse with Feri. However, when Feri proceeded to take off his condom, the victim refused to have further intercourse. The Court held that it found "no reasonable reason why consent to a particular sexual activity should preclude criminal liability for an offender who coerces a victim (through the use of violence or the exploitation of his or her defencelessness) to engage in sexual activity substantially different". On 18 March 2025, Feri was charged with rape of a minor. In line with the previous Constitutional Court decision, Feri was accused of forcing non-consensual sex on the 17 year old victim without condom, which took place after previous consensual intercourse with a condom. On 14 January 2026, Feri was indicted as charged. ==In popular culture==

Three months after Feri's sexual violence accusations were published, Czech rapper published a music video titled DOMINIK FERI as a social commentary of the Feri rape case. ==References==