1 January 2003
February 13, 2004
ERRC Letter to Slovak Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda Concerning Events in Zahorska Ves
February 12, 2004, Budapest. The ERRC today sent a letter to Slovak Prime
Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, expressing alarm at events in the village of
Zahorska Ves in Western Slovakia, where in recent months Roma have been
subjected to a number of serious human rights abuses, including violent
racist attacks, destruction of property and threatened expulsion from the
village by the local mayor. The ERRC called on Prime Minister Dzurinda to
intervene to remedy abuses which have taken place and which are ongoing.
The letter was copied to a number of other relevant Slovak authorities. The
full text of the letter, including a description of the events of recent
months in Zahorska Ves, follows:
Honourable Prime Minister Dzurinda,
The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), an international public interest
law organisation which monitors the situation of Roma in Europe and
provides legal defence in cases of human rights abuse, is alarmed at
reports it has received concerning the situation of Roma in the western
Slovakia village of Zahorska Ves. According to documentation received by
ERRC partner organisations, Roma in Zahorska Ves have recently been
subjected to a number of serious human rights abuses, including violent
racist attacks, destruction of property and threatened expulsion from the
village by the local mayor.
According to information provided to the ERRC by its Bratislava-based
partner organisation League of Human Rights Advocates (LHRA), which is
providing legal representation to individuals involved in issues raised
below, the situation of Roma in Zahorska Ves has deteriorated in recent
months. The following outlines the most serious of the reported incidents
and issues coming to the attention of the ERRC, as documented by the LHRA:
Violent Racist Attacks Against Roma
According to the testimony of Ms Olga Sarkoziova, the 56-year-old Romani
resident of Plot 310/4 on Polna Street, Zahorska Ves, at around 9:00 PM on
September 29, 2003, approximately seven men wearing facemasks jumped over
the fence surrounding the homes of her family and the Romani family Malik
and attacked members of both families with baseball bats and other
unidentified objects. The Sarkozi and Malik families comprise 16 people in
total, including 7 children and one pregnant woman, all of whom were beaten
during the assault. According to Mr Stefan Sarkozi, Ms Sarkoziovas
59-year-old husband, a medically certified invalid pensioner, one of the
assailants took out a handgun and shot the screen of their television,
causing it to explode. Ms Sarkoziova, Mr Sarkozi, and their sons - Mr Roman
Sarkozi, aged 28, and Mr Josef Sarkozi, 25 - were seriously injured during
the attack. According to their medical reports, Olga suffered a concussion
and injury to her left arm, Stefan sustained a broken arm, contusions to
his head and abrasions to his forehead, Roman sustained a broken arm, and
Josef suffered concussion. The Sarkozis underwent 6 weeks of medical
treatment for their injuries.
Later in the year, at about 8:30 PM on December 25, 2003, nine men wearing
facemasks again jumped over the gate into the compound and violently
attacked the inhabitants with baseball bats, iron bars and truncheons,
according to the testimony of Mr Roman Malik. The perpetrators destroyed
the belongings of the three families, then poured inflammable liquid
substances throughout the houses and set them on fire. In the fire, Roman
Malik Jr, a 2-year-old infant, sustained third degree burns to 25 percent
of his body according to a medical certificate issued subsequently. The
buildings and property inside belonging to the families were completely
burned in the fire. All their personal documents, including birth
certificates, identification cards and documents proving eligibility for
state-provided social welfare and health insurance, were destroyed in the
blaze. The attackers then moved to the home of Mr Josef Zeman, a Romani man
living nearby, and attacked his family, breaking windows and doors in the
house. During the assault, Mr Zeman and his children were able to unmask
one of the assailants. They therefore subsequently stated that they know
the identity of their attacker, but being afraid of retaliation, they would
be willing to testify only if the police provides them with protection. Mr
Malik, Mr Stefan Sarkozi, Ms Sarkoziova, Mr Roman Sarkozi, and Mr Josef
Zeman were severely beaten during the assault.
According to the victims, the perpetrators shouted racial slurs such as,
"You black dirty Gypsy, you will be slaughtered today" and "Gypsy black
prostitutes" during both the September and December attacks.
Failure by Police Adequately to Investigate Alleged Crimes
According to the LHRA, the Malacky District Police Department officially
opened an investigation into both racially motivated attacks described
above, but has not undertaken any visible actions in the investigation. On
October 3, 2003, the LHRA reportedly filed a complaint with the Malacky
police regarding the September attack and, at the beginning of January
2004, the LHRA filed a complaint regarding the December attack. After
having called the victims to give testimony, the investigating officer,
Captain Jan Paucik, and the head on-duty police officer, reportedly refused
to allow the Romani victims to enter the police station, alleging that they
carried infectious diseases, as one of the children had Hepatitis.
On January 21, 2003, the LHRA complained to Mr Jaroslav Spisak,
vice-president of Slovak police, about the failure of Slovak police to
properly investigate the attacks and requested that Mr Spisak ensure
thorough investigation into the attacks. A preliminary investigation by
police set to begin on January 23, 2004 reportedly did not take place,
allegedly at the instruction of Mr Simkovic, the mayor of Zahorska Ves. On
February 5, the Malacky District Police Department informed the LHRA that
it had closed its investigation into the September attack due to a lack of
evidence. According to the LHRA, to date, police have not taken steps to
investigate the December incident.
Arbitrary Actions by the Mayor of Zahorska Ves
From January 8 through 31, 2004, the municipality provided temporary
accommodation in the form of one-room mobile homes to the Sarkozi and Malik
families. On January 22, Mayor Simkovic sent a letter to Dr Columbus
Igboanusi of the LHRA, asking his assistance in relocating the Sarkozi and
Malik families to the village of Kubanova, over 350 kilometres away,
because as to the affected families, "nobody wants them in the village, not
even their own close relatives." Following consultations with the Sarkozi
and Malik families, on January 23, the LHRA responded to Mayor Simkovic
that the families, who had lived in the village for more than 100 years,
did not want to move but rather wanted to rebuild their houses. The LHRA
also reportedly offered to provide the Sarkozi and Malik families with
temporary housing on the site of their former homes and to assist in
rebuilding their homes.
In a written response of the same date, Mayor Simkovic rejected the
proposed solution and stated that temporary housing for the families in the
village would not be allowed due inter alia to lack of space and the fact
that the families had no land in the village. Mayor Simkovic reiterated his
position that the Sarkozi and Malik families must be relocated outside the
village since no one wants them in the village. The ERRC has seen copies of
the correspondence at issue.
Members of the Sarkozi and Malik families have reported that Mayor Simkovic
has refused outright to issue them a document confirming that they were
born in the village, which is necessary to have replacement documents
issued by the police. As of February 5, 2004, none of the documents lost in
the fire had been replaced.
As of February 5, 2003, the Malik family was living on the street in
Bratislava and the Sarkozi family had returned to Zahorska Ves to again ask
Mayor Simkovic for temporary accommodation. The families are severely
traumatised. Their children are no longer attending school, adults are
unable to collect their social welfare benefit and no longer have access to
their state-provided medical insurance.
Threats and Intimidation
According to the LHRA, Mayor Simkovic has reached an agreement with the
Malacky District Department of Social Affairs whereby the latter is to take
into state custody the children of the families who refused to leave the
village. On January 20, 2004 the Malacky District Court granted the
Department of Social Affairs permission to take the children of Ms Olga
Sarkoziova Jr into state custody. In addition, since he asserted the
ownership by the municipality of the land on which the Romani houses had
been located on January 27, 2004, Mayor Simkovic has refused the Sarkozi
and Malik families access to the land and has employed coercive tactics to
force them to leave the village. During a telephone call to the LHRA on the
same day, Mayor Simkovic threatened that any mobile homes brought to the
village for the purposes of housing the persons concerned would be
destroyed. Since that date, Mayor Simkovic has employed a private security
company to guard the village. Members of the Zeman family claim to have
been threatened with violence by Mayor Simkovic and his acquaintances
should they get involved in the case. Further, on February 5, members of
the Zeman family sent a typed letter to the LHRA requesting that its
representatives not go to their home anymore or get involved in their
affairs, an act the LHRA regarded with suspicion, since none of the members
of the Zeman family can read or write, and they do not own a typewriter.
Honourable Prime Minister Dzurinda, the violent racist attacks of September
29 and December 25, 2003, are of a most serious nature, as are the
subsequent actions of Mayor Simkovic and the inaction of Slovak police in
relation to the case. The ERRC is deeply concerned about the numerous
possible violations of domestic and international law evidently committed
by the perpetrators of the September and December 2003 racially motivated
attacks and by Mayor Simkovic, including:
* Articles 158 (abuse of power by a public official), 179(1) (general
threat to life and property), 221(1) (intentionally causing injury), 235(1
and 2) (threatening a person with the intent to prohibit him/her from
giving evidence in a criminal investigation) and 238(1 and 3) (violation of
the privacy of the home) of the Slovak Criminal Code;
* Article 3 (prohibition of torture), Article 8 (respect for private and
family life), Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) and Article 14
(prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and Article 1 of
Protocol 1 to the Convention (protection to property and the right not to
be deprived of possessions) and Article 2 of Protocol 4 to the Convention
(freedom of movement - right to choose residence);
The ERRC calls on your office to ensure a thorough investigation into the
racially motivated attacks on the Romani families and that any and all
implicated parties are brought swiftly to justice. We also request that an
investigation be undertaken into the very serious allegations against Mayor
Simkovic and that all criminal charges appropriate be brought against the
Mayor, should he indeed be found to have violated domestic and/or
international law. We also ask that disciplinary action be taken against
the police officers thus far involved in the case for failure to properly
perform their duties as law enforcement officials.
The ERRC further requests that your office intervene to ensure that the
personal documents of the Malik and Sarkozi families be replaced with
haste, and that any social benefits withheld due to the absence of such be
paid expeditiously. The ERRC also asks that you act to ensure that the
families be provided temporary accommodation pending the reconstruction of
their homes. Finally, the ERRC urges that all legitimate property claims by
local Roma be recognised. We respectfully request to be informed of all
measures taken by your office in this case.
Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director
Further information on the human rights situation of Roma in Slovakia is
available on the Internet at:
- Slovaka indices page
Persons wishing to express similar concerns are urged to contact:
Mr Mikulas Dzurinda
Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic
Namestie slobody 1
813 70 Bratislava
Slovak Republic
Fax: +421 2 5249 7595
Mr Vladimir Palko
Minister of the Interior of the Slovak Republic
Pribinova 2,
812 72 Bratislava
Slovak Republic
Fax: +421 2 5094 4397
Dr Dobroslav Trnka
General Prosecutor of the Slovak Republic
Sturova 2
813 25 Bratislava
Slovak Republik
Fax: +421 2 55 560075
Mr Anton Kulich, Chief of Slovak Police
Presidium of the Slovak Police Force
Racianska 45,
812 72 Bratislava
Slovak Republic
Fax: + 421 2 6105 9061
Mr Boris Simkovic,
Mayor of Zahorska Ves
Obec Zahorska Ves
Hlavna 29/184,
PSC: 900 65
Slovak Republic
Fax: + 421 34 7780211
