Brussels, 7 February 2023: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) has released two pivotal reports today, uncovering the pervasive antigypsyism and institutional racism within the criminal justice systems of the of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. These reports were developed in collaboration with global criminal justice watchdog, Fair Trials, with crucial contributions from FORUM’s dedicated research team.
ERRC President, Đorđe Jovanović, emphasized the systemic nature of the issue, stating,
“It is not just a matter of racist police officers, racist prosecutors, or racist judges – it is an entire justice system that needs major reform in these countries to deliver anti-racist justice and eliminate this culture of antigypsyism.”
The significance of the reports is underscored by shocking instances of police brutality and systemic negligence that illustrate the entrenched discrimination faced by Roma, such as the 2013 mass raid in Moldava nad Bodvou, Slovakia, and the 2021 death of Stanislav Tomáš in the Czech Republic.
Bruno Min, Fair Trials’ UK & International Legal Director, stressed the broader implications, saying,
“Anti-Roma racism in criminal justice systems is a reality that governments across Europe must confront. It cannot be dismissed as isolated incidents but must be viewed as a systemic challenge that perpetuates false, prejudicial attitudes towards Romani people. We can only make progress if the police, the courts, the prosecution service, and the legal profession acknowledge both the scale of the challenge, and the need to make extensive, meaningful changes to address structural inequalities in the criminal justice system.”
In both countries, there is a broad consensus amongst the Romani interviewees, police, judges, prosecutors, and defence lawyers interviewed for these studies that Roma are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. This is due to a combination of reasons which include persistent racial profiling and over-policing of Romani communities, social marginalisation and higher rates of poverty, lack of eligibility for alternatives to sentencing, and a presumption of guilt rooted in wider racist narratives that associate Romani people with crime.
The new research was based on a series of interviews conducted between May – September 2020 with people of Romani origin and professionals working in the criminal justice system: police officers, prosecutors, defence lawyers, and judges. The interviewees were selected considering two main factors: experience with the criminal justice system, and a geographical spread to ensure different regions were covered.
Justice Denied: Roma in the criminal justice system of the Czech Republic can be read here in English and Czech.
Justice Denied: Roma in the criminal justice system of Slovakia can be read here in English and Slovak.
This press release is also available in Slovak.
For more information, or to arrange an interview contact:
Jonathan Lee (in English)
Advocacy & Communications Manager
European Roma Rights Centre
jonathan.lee@errc.org
+32 492 88 7679
Marek Balaz (in Czech or Slovak)
Director of Operations
European Roma Rights Centre
marek.balaz@errc.or
