ERRC Urges End to Police Profiling of EU Roma in Denmark

20 June 2011

Budapest, 20 June 2011: Today, the ERRC sent letters expressing concern to Danish authorities regarding the arrest of several Romanian Roma who recently travelled to Demark following the reversal of deportation orders issued in July 2010. Travel bans affecting these individuals, who were part of a group represented by the ERRC, were lifted in April 2011, allowing them to return to Denmark.

In recent weeks, the ERRC has documented at least three cases in which its clients returning to Denmark were taken into police custody and released only after ERRC and local lawyers intervened. In all cases, Danish authorities were unaware of the reversed expulsion orders and lifted travel bans and held the persons in question in immigration detention overnight.

The ERRC called on Danish law enforcement authorities to halt the discriminatory targeting of Romani EU citizens on the streets of Copenhagen for stops, searches and detention under the Danish Aliens Act.

For further information, contact:

Sinan Gökçen
Media and Communications Officer
sinan.gokcen@errc.org
+36.30.500.1324