Major Court Win for Roma at Risk of Statelessness in North Macedonia
17 July 2025
Brussels, Skopje 17 July 2025: The Skopje Basic Civil Court published a first-instance judgment on 8 July 2025 marking a significant step safeguarding the rights of unregistered persons, particularly Roma, in North Macedonia. The collective lawsuit was brought by lawyers from the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the Macedonian Young Lawyers Association (MYLA) against the Ministry of Justice’s - Department for Keeping Civil Registers- Skopje, challenging the Ministry’s failure to comply with the Law on Unregistered Persons in the Birth Register, which has resulted in systemic exclusion and discrimination of Roma and other persons registered in the ‘Special Birth Registry’ who have obtained an identification document denying them equal access to their rights in North Macedonia.
European Committee Orders Italy to Take Immediate Measures to Protect Evicted Romani Families in Giugliano, Campania
17 July 2025
Brussels, Rome, 17 July 2025: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and Associazione 21 luglio welcome the European Committee of Social Rights' (ECSR) decision to declare the collective complaint against Italy (No. 244/2025 European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) v. Italy) admissible and, crucially, to grant the request for immediate measures to protect Romani families facing homelessness and severe health risk in Giugliano in Campania (Naples).
Anti-Roma Police Violence in Veľká Ida Must be Investigated for Racist Motivation Says ERRC and Amnesty International
01 July 2025
Bratislava, Brussels 1 July 2025 - The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and Amnesty International Slovakia are deeply alarmed by media reports of police violence against Romani residents during a police operation in the Romani community of Veľká Ida, Slovakia, on 28 June 2025. According to publicly available information, including footage circulating on social media,
Roma Win European Court Victory Against Slovak Police Over Covid Lockdown Attack
26 June 2025
Brussels, 26 June 2025 – A Romani father and son have won a judgment from the European Court of Human Rights against Slovakia after suffering a violent attack by the police during the first COVID-19 lockdown in April 2020 in Bardejov. The Court found that the violence used by the police officers (which included severely beating the Roma with batons, fracturing the skull of one and concussing the other) was disproportionate, and that the investigation into the police brutality and subsequent legal proceedings were inadequate. Slovakia must pay €16,500 in damages to the two Romani men plus €6,410 in legal expenses. The case was represented by the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC).
European Court Condemns Hungary for Removal of Romani Child from Family
12 June 2025
Brussels, Budapest 12 June 2025 – In a ruling delivered on 10 June 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found that Hungarian authorities had violated the rights of a Romani family by forcibly separating a mother from her newborn son immediately after birth without sufficient legal or social justification. The case, B.T. and B.K.Cs v. Hungary was brought before the Court by the affected parents with joint legal support from the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU). The ruling highlights the flaws in the Hungarian child protection system, which continues to disproportionately target Romani families.
European Court Rules Criminal Investigation Flawed in Serbian Police Brutality Case
04 June 2025
Brussels, 4 June 2025: The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that an investigation into a case of police brutality against Matija Nikolić, a 17-year-old Romani boy, in 2012 was inadequate and lacked impartiality.
Serbia: First Criminal Hearing Held for Hospital Abuse Case of a Romani Mother & Death of her Newborn Baby
27 May 2025
Brussels, Sremska Mitrovica, 27 May 2025: The Higher Court in Sremska Mitrovica today held the first preliminary hearing in the criminal case against Dr. Marko Maksimović who is accused of medical negligence, torture, and ill-treatment by committing extreme obstetric violence against 30-year-old Romani mother, Marica Mihajlović, in Sremska Mitrovica General Hospital.