Ukrainian Authorities Threaten Romani Activist Defending Roma Rights

29 July 2004

On May 12, 2004, Mr S.G., a Romani activist from the northwestern Ukrainian city of Lutsk, testified to the ERRC that on May 10, law enforcement officials threatened him while he was at-tempting to negotiate the end of police brutality against Roma in his area. Mr S.G. reported that in the days following the theft of two horses on May 6, the 30-family Romani community in the neigh-bouring Prelutsk village was terrorised by police and several members of the community, including teenage Romani boys, were taken to the police station and severely beaten. Similarly, in the town of Kivertsy, Mr S.G. had been informed that two young Romani men were taken to the police station and beaten almost to the point of death before they were released. Members of a Romani community in another town were also report-edly severely beaten by police, causing three Roma from the com-munity to ask Mr S.G. to intervene with the police on their behalf.

Mr S.G. informed the ERRC that at around 2:00 PM on May 10, he visited the Lutsk District Police Department where he met with several persons, including the Deputy Head. According to Mr S.G., once they were alone, the Deputy Head began insulting him, calling him such names as "Gypsy bitch" and threatening him with violence if he did not end his involvement in this case and in human rights work generally. Mr S.G., who walks with a cane, re-portedly used his cane to ward off blows by the Deputy Head. After about twenty minutes, he was ex-pelled from the Deputy Head's of-fice and passed from one room to the next until about midnight.

When asked by the ERRC whether he would pursue a complaint against the officer who threatened him, Mr S. G. was very hesitant out of fear of reprisal.

(ERRC)