The recent acquittal of former police officers accused of bullying Roma boys is unacceptable and unjust, according to non-parliamentary Party of Roma Union in Slovakia chair František Tanko. According to the indictment, police officers brought six young Roma aged between 10 to 16 years of age to Košice-South Police Station on March 21, 2009. The Roma were suspected of robbing an elderly woman. The police officers allegedly attempted to intimidate the boys - who couldn't be prosecuted due to their young age - with police dogs, which bit three of them. Subsequently, the minors were forced to slap each other and then kiss. The mistreatment continued in the building's basement, where the suspects were ordered to strip naked within ten seconds, while police officers recorded a video which was not later accepted as evidence by the court. It argued that the edited video was not acquired in a lawful manner. Therefore, the prosecution had to rely only on testimonies of witnesses. The court verdict is not final as the prosecutor appealed against it.
When asked whether he believed the verdict would have been different if it hadn't involved Roma boys, Roma politician František Tanko replied that the ruling was designed only to sweep the case under the carpet. He added that his party is ready to turn to the Justice Minister, the Prosecutor-General and the Ombudswoman. "Roma are not chess pieces to be pushed around like this. It's absurd to have one judge cast doubt about what happened, when the video was seen by the whole of Slovakia. I'm convinced that the events captured in the video are real", said Tanko.
