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Evidence mounts of police ill-treatment of Romani

By Liz Fekete

1 August 1997

The ERRC and the group Romani Yog are concerned about continuing police ill-treatment on Roma in the Transcarpathian region of the Ukraine.

Cases cited by them which all occurred in or around Uzhorod include:

December 1996, OV, arrested while collecting used batteries from garbage heaps, was beaten in custody at police station. OV spent two days in custody without food and was forced to sign a statement he could not read.
January 1997, In the course of a police raid on the home of two Roma families, adults were beaten and one man forced to shout 'All Gypsies are bastards' and 'The cemetery is the best place for Gypsies'.

Also in January

Five Roma detained on suspicion of theft were badly beaten over a three-day period. One man, who was not charged, said that during detention he was told to 'dance like a Gypsy' and subjected to unremitting abuse.
Two disabled Roma were beaten by police. The crutch of one of the men was used in the assault. The police officers had previously told the men to put their donkey on the cart and pull both donkey and cart all the way to town. When the men told the police officers that they would complain to Romani Yog, the police allegedly threatened to shoot them. Romani Yog further alleges that police officers later attempted to bribe them into not bringing charges. Finally, the two Roma men settled for US$80 from the police and signed an agreement not to file a complaint.

More evidence to be published soon

In February 1997, the ESRC was informed that, since summer 1997, a new director has been in charge of the Transcarpathian regional police and that since his appointment 154 policemen have been disciplined. Nevertheless, the violence against the Roma continues and will be the subject of a report in the near future.

Roma Rights, Spring 1997

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