Brussels, Bratislava 13 September 2023: the Košice Regional Court has ruled in favour of nine Romani plaintiffs who were forcibly evicted from their homes in the district of Nižné Kapustníky, Košice in 2012. The Romani community was evicted under the pretext of waste removal by the city authorities. The inhabitants were offered no alternative accommodation after their homes were demolished, and as a result, they became homeless. The Court has upheld the previous judgment of the District Court Košice II that authorities had discriminated against the community on the basis of their ethnicity and that they violated the plaintiffs´ human dignity and right to private life. The decision is now final.

Brussels, 31 August 2023: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) today released a report detailing the state of the Ukrainian state care system for Romani children. It uncovers the fate of children within the country, those who have fled to neighbouring countries, and the extreme likelihood that Romani children formerly in state care are among the many thousands forcibly abducted by Russian forces. The report is based on research conducted by the ERRC, which includes a series of interviews with Romani families, civil society activists, and representatives of children’s services, as well as high-ranking officials.

Bucharest, Brussels 24 August 2023: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the Romani Lawyers Association ROMAJUST have taken legal action against a Romanian hospital    on behalf of a 24-year-old Romani woman who gave birth outside on the pavement after being refused medical care. The organisations have filed a criminal complaint against the manager of the Urziceni hospital as well as the emergency unit personnel. Additionally, a petition alleging multiple discrimination has also been submitted to the National Council for Combating Discrimination (NCCD). The woman, who is deaf and from a Romani community, was denied due to the hospital lacking a gynaecology ward. The criminal complaint was filed on the 8th of August 2023 and the petition to NCCD on the 10th of August 2023.

Brussels, 23 August 2023: The Forum for Human Rights, in cooperation with the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), have brought a collective complaint against the municipality of Martin, Slovakia on behalf of Romani families living dangerously near to a landfill on the outskirts of the city. The Roma were relocated to the segregated community named ‘Bambusky’ by the municipality in the late 1990’s, with more arriving in 2008, in accommodation built only metres away from the rubbish dump. The collective complaint has been brought to Martin District Court and alleges discrimination by the municipality based on segregation and the proximity of the municipality-owned housing to hazardous waste.

Prague, Brussels 22 August 2023: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and Forum for Human Rights (FORUM), in cooperation with young Romani volunteers at Romea.cz, have filed five new criminal complaints against individuals who have repeatedly posted racist statements calling for violence against Roma on social media in the Czech Republic. Most of these emerging cases of online hate speech against Roma are linked to the news of the parole of two neo-Nazis responsible for a firebomb attack on a Romani family in Vítkov in 2009. The complaints were filed with the Police Presidium between 13 July 2023 and 9 August 2023.

Brussels, 17 August 2023: The mother and the sister of a Romani man who was beaten to death by police in Arad, Romania have filed a criminal complaint against two local police officers who were involved. The complaint was filed on 7th August 2023 and requests that the officers be held criminally liable as co-perpetrators. Legal support is being provided by RomaJust and the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC).

Prague, Brussels, 10 August 2023: Human rights lawyers from the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the Forum for Human Rights (FORUM) have filed a case before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against the Czech Republic for the death of Romani man Stanislav Tomáš in police custody in Teplice in 2021. The Czech Constitutional Court dismissed the organisations’ constitutional appeal in April 2023. The case before the Court is on behalf of the deceased Romani man’s surviving family member.