Civilian Violence Against Roma in Serbia
7 July 2004
A new wave of civilian attacks against Roma in Serbia has been documented by the Belgrade-based non-governmental organisation Minority Rights Center (MRC) in research conducted in partnership with the ERRC. MRC reports that attacks even occur in regions, renowned for their tolerance, with high percentages of national minorities in the population, such as Vojvodina. In Novi Sad, the capital of the province of Vojvodina, Mladen Janković, a 14-year-old Romani boy, was attacked in broad daylight in the city centre. Mladen Janković informed MRC that on March 4, 2002, at approximately 11:00 AM, he was selling toys near the underground passage on Mihajlo Pupin Boulevard when a non-Romani man approached him and started beating him. Mladen Janković told MRC that the passage was quite crowded and the attacker allegedly told Mladen that the crowding was caused by his standing at the entrance of the passage. Mladen reported that the attacker then grabbed his head with both hands and pushed his face into the glass wall of the passage, then slapped him once and punched him in the face, while cursing his "Gypsy mother". Mr Djordje Jovanović, an MRC researcher, witnessed the incident from a passing bus, and reported that the majority of passengers laughed as they watched the incident. According to Mr Jovanović, the incident happened in full view of many passersby, none of whom defended Mladen Janković. On March 4, 2002, MRC offered Mr Janković legal defence, but the boy's family refused it, reportedly out of fear of further violence.
On March 3, 2002, MRC was informed by Mr Ardijan Jašari, a 20-year-old Romani man, about another attack that took place in Novi Sad. Mr Jašari reportedly makes his living on tips he receives for directing drivers to free parking spots. On February 26, 2002, Mr Jašari found a parking space for a non-Romani man driving an expensive looking car. On the evening of February 27, 2002, Mr Jašari reported that the same man approached him and began to beat him while cursing his "Gypsy" origins. He accused Mr Jašari of having scratched his car the previous day. According to Mr Jašari, the man beat him with his fists on his face, and when he tried to run away, the man caught him and Mr Jašari fell to the ground. The man allegedly then threatened to take Mr Jašari out of town to beat him, and kicked him very hard in his jaw, causing Mr Jašari to lose consciousness. Mr Jašari reported to MRC that several of his friends in the area found him lying on the ground unconscious and took him to a local hospital in a taxi. On February 28, 2002, Mr Jašari underwent surgery on his broken jaw and was released from the hospital on March 1, 2002. According to Mr Jašari, immediately after leaving the hospital, he went to the police to file a complaint and submitted photocopies of his medical record and the license plate number of the vehicle owned by the attacker. As of July 7, 2002, Mr Jašari reported that the police had not contacted him in connection with the complaint he had filed.
In another case, on April 17, 2002, Mr Avdi Beriša, a 31-year-old Romani man from the Romani settlement Deponija in Belgrade, told MRC that at approximately 10:00 PM on an unspecified date in early February 2002, he was attacked by a group of approximately 10 non-Romani young men, while he was collecting scrap paper on 29 November Street. The young men reportedly laughed at Mr Beriša and cursed his "Gypsy mother". According to Mr Beriša, the young men then ordered him to throw away the paper he had collected in his cart, and one of the young men ordered him to drive them in his cart. Mr Beriša reported to MRC that he did not resist because he was afraid that they would beat him up. Three of the young men then entered his cart, and he drove them around for about one hour, during which time the other young men took turns getting in the cart. According to Mr Beriša, at the end of the hour, the non-Romani young men left.According to MRC, the incident was never reported to the police.
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| Settlement of Roma from Kosovo in Serbia, March 2002. Photo: ERRC |
Roma living in the Stara Betonjerka settlement in Belgrade reported to MRC that they live under the constant threat of attack by non-Roma. On February 26, 2002, Mr Miodrag Gujaš, a 37-year-old Romani man, told MRC that at the end of December 2001, a local group of non-Romani young men were standing above him on an overpass and threw a bottle at him, hitting him in the head. The young men reportedly then insulted his racial origins and hurled stones at him. Ms Zorica Kostić, a 35-year-old Romani woman from the same settlement, told MRC that non-Roma from neighbouring buildings often insult her on racist grounds and accuse Roma of polluting the environment with their garbage. Ms Kostić said that in November 2001, as she was passing through the neighbourhood, she was hit with a stone in her back by a person she could not see. Mr Jovan Aleksić, a 17-year-old Romani man also from Stara Betonjerka, reported to MRC that on an unspecified date in July 2001, he was attacked by four non-Romani youths, one of whom was dressed as a skinhead, on Simina Street as he was collecting scrap paper from garbage containers in the afternoon. The attackers allegedly ordered Mr Aleksić to come closer and asked him if he had any money. When Mr Aleksić replied that he did not, the man dressed as a skinhead reportedly forcibly took Mr Aleksić's jacket off, took out his identity card and threw it away. According to Mr Aleksić, the attacker then punched him in the face several times, causing him to fall down, after which the other members of the group kicked him in his back. Mr Aleksić reported to MRC that a man passing by tried to defend him and the attackers then started fighting with him, at which time Mr Aleksić ran away. According to Mr Aleksić, he did not report the case to the police as he and his family "did not believe that the police would help them."
Written Comments by the European Roma Rights Centre concerning Serbia to the Human Rights Council, within its Universal Periodic Review, for consideration at its 29th session (January-February 2018).
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Written comments by the ERRC to the European Commission on enlargement component of the EU Roma Framework.
