In September 2020 the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg decided on police violence against two Romani men from Moldava nad Bodvou they faced during police raid in 2013 in a local Roma marginalised community in Eastern Slovakia. The court ruled that Slovak state authorities violated both their right to protection from police violence and their right to its effective investigation. However, in Slovak courts they both have been facing criminal charges of false accusations against police officers who have committed violence against them.        

At today’s hearing, the District Court Košice finally discontinued criminal proceedings also against the second of these men. It did so after the district prosecutor dropped the charges against him. 

The Center for Civil and Human Rights (Poradna) – human rights grassroot NGO – has long time provided free legal assistance to the affected man in respect to the police violence against him. Our lawyer represented him in criminal proceedings conducted by Slovak police inspection, before the Slovak Constitutional Court and also before the European Court of Human Rights.   

In this regard, we welcome today’s decision of the Košice court.

Stefan Ivanco – program coordinator of Poradna, said:   

“During the investigation conducted by the Slovak police inspection as well as later before the European Court of Human Rights, our former client claimed that in 2013 during the police raid – police officers took him out of his house, while shouting “get out the Gypsies, you will perish today!”. Outside, they beat him with a baton all over his body and struck him with an electroshock weapon. And last September, the European Court ruled that the Slovak authorities had seriously erred in investigating his case. In addition, the Strasbourg court also pointed out that the authorities had not thoroughly investigated the possible racial motive of the entire police raid. The fact is that, starting with police violence against him, the state authorities have trampled on his rights to this day. Now they must do everything they can to ensure that such injustice never happens again to anyone in our country.”

We issued press statement to the discontinuation of criminal proceedings against the second man.

Information about the project under which this press release was issued:

Issued with the financial support of the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic within the subsidy program to promote, support and protect human rights and freedoms and to prevent all forms of discrimination, racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and other expressions of intolerance. For the content of this document is solely responsible the Center for Civil and Human Rights.