Another skinhead attack in eastern Slovakia

15 July 1997

Approximately thirty skinheads of both sexes, between the ages of 16 and 19, attacked a group of seven Roma on the number 20 bus line in the Eastern Slovak city of Košice near the housing settlement called "Sudy" early in the afternoon on May 9. According to witnesses, a Romani woman was beaten by the group when she attempted to defend herself by swinging a bag full of empty bottles. A 13-year-old Romani boy was admitted to an emergency unit in Košice and was treated for mild head wounds. According to the police, an investigation has been opened. (Legal Defence Bureau for Ethnic Minorities in Slovakia)

Skinhead violence against Roma in Slovakia and the failure of Slovak authorities to respond to such violence in a timely fashion is the subject of the European Roma Rights Center report Time of the Skinheads: Denial and Exclusion of Roma in Slovakia .