MINELRES: Slovakia: Law Enforcement Degrades into Punitive Assault on Roma

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: European Roma Rights Center <errc@errc.org>


European Roma Rights Center and Center for Roma Rights in Slovakia Urge 
Slovak General Prosecutor to Open Investigation

On March 2, 2004, the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) and the Center
for Roma Rights in Slovakia (CRRS) communicated in writing to the Slovak
General Prosecutor the findings of first-hand field investigation into
the events of recent days in several Romani communities in eastern
Slovakia, and urged him to open investigation into the acts of law
enforcement officials to determine whether they have violated domestic
and/or international law. Independent field research by the two
organisations revealed that Roma have been subjected to punitive actions
by law enforcement officials, serious human rights abuses and other
arbitrary treatment, including:

* Indiscriminate and excessive use of physical force, including abusive
force deployed on minors, women and persons with physical and/or mental
disabilities;

* Subjection to severe charges - in particular the charge of robbery in
an organised group - brought against a number of Romani women in the
town of Caklov, a series of acts by law enforcement officials which
apparently conflate the purposes of criminal justice with those of raw
revenge;

* Subjection to pre-trial detention, although the grounds for
deprivation of liberty in a number of cases appear questionable at best.

The mobilisation of police force was ordered in response to riots during
which crowds of Roma have looted and damaged food shops. The riots were
triggered by changes to the social welfare system in which, from early
2004, the structure of the social welfare system has been changed, with
all persons requiring social support receiving less than previously.
Many Roma have been particularly affected by the changes to the social
welfare law, however, due to provisions cutting support for families
with more than four children. These provisions were apparently
specifically adopted to reduce welfare payments to Roma.

In their March 2 communication, the ERRC and the CRRS urge the Slovak
General Prosecutor to undertake the following:

* Carry out, without delay, an impartial and effective investigation
into allegations of inhuman and degrading treatment of Roma;

* Review apparently disproportionate criminal charges brought against a
number of Romani individuals;

* Ensure that any Romani persons placed in custody pending trial are
detained in accordance to Slovak law and international human rights law;
and

* Ensure that Roma have effective access in practice to all fair trial 
guarantees provided under domestic and international law.

In the context of this week's very significantly heightened ethnic
tensions in Slovakia, the actions of the Slovak General Prosecutor now
constitute a primary measure for whether the Slovak justice system is
capable of even-handedly delivering justice, or whether Slovakia's
Romani minority is correct to presume, as a great many of its members
now believe, that Roma do not enjoy equal protection of the law in
Slovakia.

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The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal
defence in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the
European Roma Rights Center, visit the ERRC on the web at
http://www.errc.org.

European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary


Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax:   +36 1 4132201

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