While extremism and racism within police forces are on the rise all over Europe, some ‘good’ news: “Bittersweet legal victory for Roma!”
“A full seven years after Slovak police violently stormed a Roma settlement in Moldava nad Bodvou, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a ruling that marks an important legal victory for Roma rights and against racist policing; some kind of justice for the individual claimants; and a triumph for the Centre for Civil and Human Rights which deserves our congratulations.
Yesterday (1 September 2020), the Strasbourg court ruled in the case of R.R. v. Slovakia, that there has been substantive and procedural violations of Article 3, and a violation of Article 14; and awarded each of the applicants EUR20,000 in damages and EUR6,500 costs.
It comes as no little irony that the judgement is delivered yesterday, when Slovakia celebrated Constitution Day (Deň Ústavy Slovenskej republiky), for there was little by way of constitutional rights accorded to the Romani victims of this notorious police raid.”
Read more in the opinion article by Marek Balaz of the European Roma Right Centre