Romanian Roma Intimidated After Seeking Justice for Rights Violations

29 July 2004

In the northern Romanian village of Frata, Police Officer Dorel Muresan has reportedly begun harassing eleven Romani women and their families who, in July 2003, filed discrimination complaints with the National Council for Combating Discrimination (NCCD) and the Turda County First Instance Court Prosecutor's Office, with legal representation by the ERRC and local lawyer Ms Livia Labo. The women filed the complaints after having been refused access to the birth allowances by Ms L.S., an employee of the Frata Mayor's Office on the basis they were not legally married (background information is available at: http://www.errc.org/rr_nr3_2003/snap34.shtml). According to Ms Labo, Mr Muresan, who is Ms L.S.'s cousin, has been harassing the women and their families to withdraw their complaints, by threatening to inves-tigate family members for various crimes. Indeed, on April 5, 2004, 25-year-old Mr Razvan Laco, brother of Ms Victoria Negrea, one of the plaintiffs, was taken to the Frata Police Station for question-ing in connection with the theft of an iron fence from Mr Dorel Somblea, another cousin of Ms L.S. Ms Labo also reported that the in-vestigating prosecutor, Mr Otel of the Turda Prosecutor's Office, in-timidated the women during inter-views, speaking about alleged and proven crimes committed by mem-bers of their families. Three of the women withdrew their complaints as a result of the actions of Mr Muresan and Mr Otel.

As of June 2, 2004, the NCCD had not issued a formal decision, but the prosecutor had issued a non-indictment decision, which the ERRC and Ms Labo intended to appeal. 

(ERRC)