Grants awarded

07 November 2001

• In July 2001, the ERRC awarded Ms Furlan (Firenze, Italy) a grant to represent Mr B.M. in legal proceedings. Ms Furlan's client is a Romani man from Kosovo. Before leaving Kosovo, he was threatened and attacked by ethnic Albanians and was forced to leave his house and Kosovo with his family. His house was subsequently burned down. Last January he requested refugee status in Florence.
• In July 2001, the ERRC awarded to Ms Furlan (Florence, Italy) a grant to represent Mr B.I. from Romania in legal proceedings. Mr B.I., his wife and son traveled to Italy in December 2000. In May 2001, their son was hit by a bus and seriously injured. He remains in the hospital in grave condition. In the meantime, Italian authorities have begun deportation proceedings against Mr B.I. As Mr B.I.'s wife subsequently gave birth to another child, she is entitled under Italian law to stay in Italy until the baby is six months old. The attorney filed an application to the Court for minors of Florence requesting a stay permit for Mr B.I. so he can remain in Italy and help his son.
• In July 2001, the ERRC awarded the League of Human Rights (Bratislava, Slovakia) a grant to represent Mr A.P. in legal proceedings. J.P. (A.P.'s son) and his friend A.B. were attacked on February 24, 2000, in Ruomberok by two skinheads. The two Romani children were walking on the street when the skinheads confronted them and began to attack them physically. One of the skinheads grabbed J.P. by the right arm and twisted it until he lost balance and fell on the ground, while the other one tried to strangle the Romani girl, A.B. The skinheads kicked J.P. in the head and the upper parts of the body. They stopped only when they saw a man approaching. After returning home, J.P. began to vomit blood and subsequently collapsed and lost consciousness. He was rushed to the Ruzomberok hospital, where he was treated for the serious injuries he sustained as a result of the attack.
• In July 2001, the ERRC awarded the League of Human Rights (Bratislava, Slovakia) a grant to represent M.H. in legal proceedings. M.H., P.M., both Roma, and their non-Romani friend D.T., went together to a disco party at Trojicne Square in Trnava on August 27, 1999. While standing near a fast food kiosk, they saw skinheads approaching. They were about to move away from the scene when the group of the skinheads attacked them. One of the skinheads pulled out a tear gas canister and sprayed it in the faces of M.H. and his friends. They fell on the ground and M.H. was stabbed with a jack knife. He was stabbed in the stomach, from the lower abdomen, through the navel, up towards the thoracic region. M.H. was also stabbed in various parts of his body such as the left part of the chest and left shoulder. He also sustained a stab wound on his back. According to medical reports, "the injuries sustained by M.H. especially that of the abdominal [...] and the damages to the intestines will remain a chronic problem."
• In July 2001, the ERRC awarded Mario Angelelli (Rome, Italy) a grant to represent J.L., M.L., R.K., and N.M. in legal proceedings. The four Roma, originally from Yugoslavia and currently residing in Rome, were served with expulsion orders issued by the Prefect of Rome, and in one case, a request for residence permit was denied and followed by an expulsion issued by the police. The incident happened after police stopped and asked the Roma for ID papers, after what was apparently a surprise visit to the square by Prime Minister Berlusconi, who had been disturbed by people trying to sell him flowers. It is now reportedly common practice by Italian authorities to abusively and disproportionately punish Roma with expulsion orders and rejections of their requests for residence permits in connection with alleged petty offences.
• In August 2001, the ERRC awarded the Center for Environmental Public Advocacy (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia) a grant to represent Ms M.B. in legal proceedings. Ms M.B. was sterilised by a doctor who performed a caesarean section in the course of her second child delivery. The surgery took place at Gelnica Hospital on February 3, 1986. Neither the client, nor her parents, agreed to the sterilisation. She became aware of her sterility only after a gynaecological examination on April 8, 1999. Sterilisation of Romani women in Slovakia, absent informed consent, was a common occurrence during the 1970s and 1980s.
• In September 2001, the ERRC awarded Roman Krakovka (Ostrava, Czech Republic) a grant to represent Mr M.K. in legal proceedings. On February 2, 1996, a firebomb was thrown at the house of Ms E.Z. and Mr M.K. On February 16, 1996, the attack was repeated. In both cases, the inhabitants managed to extinguish the fire, incurring only minor damages. In January 1998, a Molotov cocktail was thrown into the flat of M.K.. The fire caused severe injuries to his common-law wife E.Z.. She was hospitalised for several weeks in the Ostrava-Poruba hospital, where doctors struggled to save her life. E.Z. still suffers as a consequence of the attack.
• In September 2001, the ERRC awarded Orestis Georgiadis (Thessaloniki, Greece) a grant to represent L.B. and L.K. in legal proceedings. On May 8, 1998, two Romani youth, L.B. and L.K. (then 17 and 18 years old respectively), were arrested for attempted ice cream theft, in the town of Messolonghi (in western Greece). According to L.B., he was struck on the back of his head by a plainclothes police officer at the time of the arrest. At the Messolonghi police station, both Romani youth were beaten with truncheons all over their bodies and were repeatedly slapped and kicked by three police officers. Their ordeal continued the following day, when they were asked to provide the police officers with information as to the whereabouts of a wanted drug dealer. On the third day, the two Romani youths were released and taken to a doctor, who certified the presence of injuries consistent with their allegations. The Greek Ministry of Public Order undertook an internal investigation into the matter, which as of the date of publication had not appeared to have reached any conclusion. Pending conclusion of the investigation, the three officers are allowed to remain in Messolonghi and have reportedly exerted pressure on the two Romani youths to retract their testimonies.
• In November 2001, the ERRC awarded Alexander Kashumov (Sofia, Bulgaria) a grant to represent T.S, Z.S and K.Y. in legal proceedings. On July 18, 2001, three Romani youths were arrested by police officers in Sofia, Bulgaria, under suspicion of having committed a crime. At the time of arrest, they were heavily beaten by police officers. The three men were transported to the police station, and two of them - T.S. and Z.S. - were forced to get into a police car. At the police station the three Romani youths were beaten again. They were released on the following day. A medical certificate was issued attesting to the injuries of the youths. T.S. and Z.S. sustained medium bodily injuries. The Roma reported that during the arrest their Romani origin was insulted. They were called "dirty Gypsies" and threatened by the police officers.