Budulovská settlement of Moldava nad Bodvou (source: Sme - Ján Krošlák)
The evidence that led to a criminal prosecution against a group of Roma from the Budulovská settlement in Moldava nad Bodvou for perjury was acquired in a legal fashion. There was a legal cause to initiate the criminal prosecution and the pressing of charges, the General Prosecutor’s Office stated on July 2, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
The case involved the police crackdown in this settlement in the eastern Slovak town of Moldava nad Bodvou (Košice Region) in 2013.
The GPO also pointed to a decision of the Constitutional Court, according to which the extent of procedural actions suggests that the “law-enforcement bodies took a particularly meticulous approach towards shedding light on the circumstances surrounding the case”.
Slanderers or victims?
The Roma face charges of making false accusations against the police by claiming that police officers attacked them for no reason and gave them a severe beating. According to the internal affairs team of the Interior Ministry (police also fall under this ministry), the police officers did not violate the law during their crackdown on June 19, 2013.
However, international human-rights’ organisations like Equity, the European Roma Rights Centre, ETP Slovensko, Amnesty International Slovakia and CVEK disagree with these findings and dismiss both the conclusions drawn by the internal affairs team, the approach of the court and prosecution of the Roma, claiming that the beaten victims are now being portrayed as the perpetrators.
