Two Romani men beaten to death in Russia

07 November 2001

On August 18, 2001, the Volgograd-based weekly newspaper Versija-Volgograd reported that two Romani men from Ukraine had been beaten to death in Volgograd, Russia, during an apparent attack on their settlement at the Tsaritsa River, not far from a regional hospital, on July 5, 2001.

According to the Public Prosecutor's Office in the Voroshilovski District in Volgograd, a group of around 30 young men affiliated with skinhead organisations, all between the ages of 15 and 22, armed with metal rods, chains and wooden sticks, found the settlement of travelling Roma, in which there were four men, women and children. In an apparently planned attack, the skinhead group charged the settlement from two sides. The attackers beat two men in the settlement and set the settlement on fire. According to Public Prosecutor Vladamir Boyarinstev, while most Roma managed to escape, Mr Batyj Kunetsov was beaten to death at the scene, and Mr Balla Cherepovski was severely beaten and died later in hospital due to cranial injuries. District police received notice of the killing at approximately 10:00 PM from an unspecified source, and upon arrival at the scene, police officers found several frightened Roma.

Versija-Volgograd reported that police investigators had successfully identified the perpetrators, and within 48 hours, arrested seven of the attackers. As of August 18th, 2001, the investigation remained in progress.
 

(Versija-Volgograd)