A trial has begun in Wroclaw, south western Poland, of a group of skinheads accused of racially-motivated violence against Polish Roma gypsies and their children.
It’s the first time that public prosecutors have managed to bring offenders to trial based on the grounds of a racially- provoked assault.
Four men have been tried for assaulting a group of Roma and their children in the city of Wroclaw last year.
The men are believed to be members of a far-right skin-head subculture known for racist views.
It is alleged that one of the men known as Miroslaw F swung a heavy metal chain above the head of a ten-year-old Roma boy and threatened to rape a Roma woman who rushed to save the child.
A fight broke out when the father of the child and other Roma men tried to fend off the skinheads. Police broke up the fight which sent four attackers and one Roma man to hospital.
Malgorzata Rozycka, a plenipotentiary for national minorities in Wroclaw, is surprised that authorities acted so quickly to bring the guilty parties to trial.
It’s estimated that there are 25 thousand Roma in Poland. A few decadess ago Poles associated the Roma people with nomad gypsy beggars and a lot has changed since then regarding social attitudes and the perception of ethnic minorities in general.
A common commission of government and national minorities was set up last year when Poland adopted its first law on national minorities. Its aim is to secure the rights of minorities in Poland.
Nicolae Ghorghe adviser for Romany and Sinti issues of the OSCE in Warsaw says that Poland has made inroads in protecting the rights of Roma and Sinti.
Observers think that Warsaw has taken a legislative step forward compared to that of other East European countries in the region, in recognizing the human rights of the Roma and Sinti.
As for the Roma - Skinheads case, if found guilty as charged, the men could face up to 12 years behind bars.
by Bogdan Zaryn |