Taxi Driver Assaults Elderly Romani Woman in Ukraine

11 March 2005

According to the Uzhgorod-based Romani organization Romani Yag, just before 9:00 PM on October 8, 2004, a taxi driver with the company Citi Taxi physically assaulted Ms Latsko, 78-year-old Romani woman from Uzhgorod. On the evening in question, Ms Latsko ordered a taxi to drive her to her brother's house in the neighboring village of Storozhnitsa. On the way to Storozhnitsa, the driver asked Ms Latsko if she had money to pay for the trip. Ms Latsko reportedly responded that she would get money from her brother to pay upon arrival at his house. The driver reportedly began to swear at Ms Latsko and she told him to stop. Romani Yag informed the ERRC that the driver then punched Ms Latsko in the face, knocking out one of her teeth. He stopped the car, violently pulled Ms Latsko out of the vehicle and left her lying on the ground where he kicked her hard, then drove off.

Ms Latsko reportedly walked home and went to the hospital in an ambulance the following day. Doctors at the hospital called the police who took Ms Latsko's testimony. Following the incident, a complaint was filed by Mr Vasilij Didychyn, a local lawyer engaged by a Romani organisation Romani Yag on behalf of Ms Latsko with the prosecutor's office in Uzhgorod. The prosecutor's office redirected the complaint to the local police office for investigation of the alleged abuse. The police office sent a letter to Romani Yag in mid-January 2005 notifying Mr Didychyn and Romani Yag about the rejection of the grounds for criminal or civil procedure. On February 24, 2005, Mr Didychyn filed a criminal complaint on behalf of the victim with the Uzhgorod city court. For further information on the human rights situation of Roma in Ukraine, visit the ERRC's Internet website at http://errc.org/Archivum_index.php, enter "Ukraine" into the "country" box of the search engine and click "enter".

(ERRC, Romani Yag)