The Regional Court in Piešťany has ruled in what the Sme daily called the first case of “reverse racism”, finding that two young Roma men had beat to death Andrej Polák, a non-Roma aged 63, during the “Onion Feast” in Madunice. The court sent both men to prison for 13 years.
The Sme daily wrote on May 15 that during the attack the two men shouted they would kill all whites. In the courtroom they both reportedly said they had not killed the man out of racial hatred and appealed the verdict. Sme wrote that the case is exceptional because of the brutality of the attack, which the defendants pleaded guilty to and said they regretted. A forensic expert testified that Polák had no chance to survive even if he had received timely medical treatment.
Lawyer Irena Bihariová from the association Ľudia proti rasizmu (People against Racism) told Sme that one cannot speak about “reverse racism” as there is just one form of racism. She deemed the case exceptional due to the death of the victim of the attack but added that many victims of racial attacks do not report the attacks because they do not trust the Slovak police and judiciary. She told Sme that each case has to be assessed and judged individually, taking all conditions into consideration.
Source: Sme
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
