Series of violent attacks against Roma in Hungary in 2008-2009
Timeline
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Piricse: Molotov cocktails were thrown at two houses owned by Roma
In 2008, at Piricse, Molotov cocktails were thrown at two houses owned by Roma. A woman was shot in her leg when she stepped out of one of the houses.[1] [1] EÖKK (2009) Cigánynak lenni Magyarországon, Jelentés 2008 (Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research: A Roma's Life in Hungary. Report 2008), Budapest: Európai Összehasonlító Kisebbségkutatások Közalapítv...
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Galgagyörk: shots fired at homes of Roma
In 2008 in Galgagyörk, a village near Budapest, shortly after 3 a.m., 10-15 shots were fired at three houses owned by Roma families, by unknown perpetrators. No one was injured.[1], [1] Nepszabadsag. 22.07.2008, http://www.nol.hu/archivum/archiv-499730 (Date of access: 13.12.2011.)
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Nyíradony: gunshots were targeted at house inhabited by Roma
In 2008 in Nyíradony gunshots were targeted at a house inhabited by Roma. No one was injured. [1] [1] EÖKK (2009) Cigánynak lenni Magyarországon, Jelentés 2008 (Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research: A Roma's Life in Hungary Report 2008), Budapest: Európai Összehasonlító Kisebbségkutatások Közalapítvány, p. 219.
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Molotov cocktails and gunshots in Tarnabod
In 2008 an attack took place in Tarnabod, where Molotov cocktails were thrown and gunshots fired at three homes in a neighbourhood with a significant Roma population. No one was injured. The case is still pending.[1] [1] EÖKK (2009) Cigánynak lenni Magyarországon, Jelentés 2008 (Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research: A Roma's Life in Hungary. Report 2008), Budapest: Európai Összehasonlító Kisebb...
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Nagycsécs: a Roma man and a woman were shot dead in their house
As reported by EÖKK NGO, an attack was committed in Nagycsécs - on 3 November 2008 - where a 43-year-old Roma man and a 40-year-old Roma woman were shot dead in their home in Nagycsécs. According to the official investigation, petrol bombs (‘Molotov-cocktails’) were thrown into the house before the perpetrators used firearms to kill the members of the family.[1] [1] EÖKK (2009) Cigánynak lenni Magyarorszá...
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Alsózsolca: Roma man suffered near-fatal gunshot injury
On 15 December 2008, in Alsózsolca, several shots were fired at a Roma couple in front of their home. The 19-year-old young man suffered near-fatal injuries, while causing also light injuries to his girlfriend.[1] [1] EÖKK (2009) Cigánynak lenni Magyarországon, Jelentés 2008 (Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research: A Roma's Life in Hungary. Report 2008), Budapest: Európai Összehason...
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Fatal attack against a Roma family in Tatárszentgyörgy
OSCE-ODIHR: "In the early hours of Monday, 23 February 2009, the house of a Roma family in Tatárszentgyörgy, about 40 kilometres southeast of Budapest, was set on fire by a Molotov cocktail. As the family fled from the burning building, which was located at the edge of a group of houses, the perpetrator(s) shot and killed a 27-year-old man and his five-year-old son. The man’s wife and six-year-old daughter, as well as a three-year-old child were also injured in the attack. Neither...
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Tiszalök: Roma man killed by gunshot
On 22 April 2009, in Tiszalök, an 54-year-old Roma man was shot in the chest outside his home. The police indicated racial motivation behind the crime. Source: EÖKK (2009) Cigánynak lenni Magyarországon, Jelentés 2008 (Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research: A Roma's Life in Hungary. Report 2008), Budapest: Európai Összehasonlító Kisebbségkutatások Közalapítvány, ...
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Kisléta: Roma woman died, 13-year-old daughter seriously injured
On 3 August 2009, in Kisléta, a 45-year-old Roma woman was shot dead, and her 13-year-old daughter seriously injured in an attack against their home in Kisléta. The girl, suffering life-threatening injuries, remained in hospital for several weeks.[1] [1] ’Petárdának hitték a kislétai lövéseket’ ['The shootings in Kisléta were mistaken to be patards'], in: Origo (03.08.2009), available at: http:...
In 2008-2009, a series of nine attacks against members of Roma communities, committed allegedly by an organised group of criminals, resulted in 6 deaths, injuries and loss of the properties of Roma people. These crimes were apparently targeted against the homes of Roma people living in the outskirts of rural settlements (in neighbourhoods with a significant Roma population). The offenders used self-made fire-bombs (‘Molotov cocktails’), to set the buildings on fire, and handguns for the fatal attacks.
These hate crimes against the Roma attracted significant media attention; however, as a recent study shows [1], the media attention during the last years was significantly higher regarding those cases where allegedly Roma perpetrators had committed violent crimes against non-Roma victims, compared to the attention regarding hate crimes against the Roma victims.
The nine attacks were the following:
- On August 8, 2008, at Piricse, Molotov cocktails were thrown at two houses owned by Roma. A woman was shot in her leg when she stepped out of one of the houses.[2]
- On August 21, in 2008 in Galgagyörk, a village near Budapest, shortly after 3 a.m., 10-15 shots were fired at three houses owned by Roma families, by unknown perpetrators. No one was injured.[3],
- On September 5, in 2008 in Nyíradony gunshots were targeted at a house inhabited by Roma. No one was injured. [4]
- On September 29, in 2008 an attack took place in Tarnabod, where Molotov cocktails were thrown and gunshots fired at three homes in a neighbourhood with a significant Roma population. No one was injured. The case is still pending.[5]
- On November 3, in 2008, an attack was committed in Nagycsécs, where a 43-year-old Roma man and a 40-year-old Roma woman were shot dead in their home in Nagycsécs. According to the official investigation, petrol bombs (‘Molotov-cocktails’) were thrown into the house before the perpetrators used firearms to kill the members of the family.[6]
- On 15 December 2008, in Alsózsolca, several shots were fired at a Roma couple in front of their home. The 19-year-old young man suffered near-fatal injuries, and his girlfriend light injuries.[7]
- On 23 February 2009, "the house of a Roma family in Tatárszentgyörgy, about 40 kilometres southeast of Budapest, was set on fire by a Molotov cocktail. As the family fled from the burning building, which was located at the edge of a group of houses, the perpetrator(s) shot and killed a 27-year-old man and his five-year-old son. The man’s wife and six-year-old daughter, as well as a three-year-old child were also injured in the attack. Neither the police nor the forensic expert investigating the scene immediately after the attack detected the shotgun wounds on the bodies of the man and his son, and they initially determined that the blaze in the home and the two deaths resulted from an electrical fire caused by an improper, illegal connection to the power grid. As a result, the home and the surrounding area were not declared a crime scene and closed off until later in the afternoon on 23 February.
The Director of the National Bureau of Investigation (Nemzeti Nyomozó Iroda or NNI) said that there were clear similarities between this attack and others with Molotov cocktails and shotguns targeting homes on the outskirts of the settlement. After the Tatárszentgyörgy attack, the police offered a 10 million Hungarian forint award for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator(s). " [8]
- On 22 April 2009, in Tiszalök, an 54-year-old Roma man was shot in the chest outside his home. The police indicated racial motivation behind the crime.[9]
After the attack in Tiszalök, In June and July 2009, Andrzej Mirga, the Senior Advisor on Roma and Sinti Issues, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, led a nine-day field assessment visit to Hungary, aimed at exploring possible factors leading or contributing to the attacks on and killings of Roma and the responses of the authorities to these incidents. The delegation visited 12 localities in Hungary, and met with representatives of the central, regional and local government, of the police and of the civil society. [10]
- On 3 August 2009, in Kisléta, a 45-year-old Roma woman was shot dead, and her 13-year-old daughter seriously injured in an attack against their home in Kisléta. The girl, suffering life-threatening injuries, remained in hospital for several weeks.[11]
In the same month, on 21 August, 2009, the police arrested 5 five men in Debrecen as suspects of the series of attacks. [12]
After the arrest of the alleged perpetrators, no additional attacks of this nature occurred in Hungary.
The trial on the series of attacks strarted in March 2011.[13]
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[1] Karácsony, G.– Róna, D.: A Jobbik titka. A szélsőjobb magyarországi megerősödésének lehetséges okairól. (=The secret of Jobbik Party: ont he possible causes of the sweep of Right Wing on Hungary), Politikatudományi Szemle, Vol. XIX. (2010) No. 1, 31–66.
[2] Nepszabadsag 22.07.2008, http://www.nol.hu/archivum/archiv-499730 (Date of access: 13.12.2011)
[3] EÖKK (2009) Cigánynak lenni Magyarországon, Jelentés 2008 (Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research, A Roma's Life in Hungary. Report 2008), Budapest: Európai Összehasonlító Kisebbségkutatások Közalapítvány, p. 218.
[4] EÖKK (2009) Cigánynak lenni Magyarországon, Jelentés 2008 (Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research, A Roma's Life in Hungary. Report 2008), Budapest: Európai Összehasonlító Kisebbségkutatások Közalapítvány, p. 219.
[5] EÖKK (2009) Cigánynak lenni Magyarországon, Jelentés 2008 (Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research, A Roma's Life in Hungary. Report 2008), Budapest: Európai Összehasonlító Kisebbségkutatások Közalapítvány, p. 219.
[6] EÖKK (2009) Cigánynak lenni Magyarországon, Jelentés 2008 (Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research, A Roma's Life in Hungary. Report 2008), Budapest: Európai Összehasonlító Kisebbségkutatások Közalapítvány, p. 221
[7] EÖKK (2009) Cigánynak lenni Magyarországon, Jelentés 2008 (Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research, A Roma's Life in Hungary. Report 2008), Budapest: Európai Összehasonlító Kisebbségkutatások Közalapítvány, p. 221.
[8] OSCE-ODIHR: ADDRESSING VIOLENCE, PROMOTING INTEGRATION FIELD ASSESSMENT OF VIOLENT INCIDENTS AGAINST ROMA IN HUNGARY: Key Developments, Findings and Recommendations June-July 2009, Warsaw, 2010, p. 12., see
http://www.osce.org/odihr/68545 (Date of access: 2012.01.24.)
[9] EÖKK (2009) Cigánynak lenni Magyarországon, Jelentés 2008 (Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research, A Roma's Life in Hungary. Report 2008), Budapest: Európai Összehasonlító Kisebbségkutatások Közalapítvány, p. 232.
[10] See ODIHR (2010) E-newsletter, July-August 2009, available at: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs026/1101200403519/archive/1102659952399.html
[11] ’Petárdának hitték a kislétai lövéseket’ ['The shootings in Kisléta were mistaken to be patards'], in: Origo (03.08.2009), available at: http://www.origo.hu/itthon/20090803-beszamolok-a-kisletai-gyilkossagrol.html (Date of access: 19.02.2012).
[12] 'Elfogták a romagyilkosságok gyanúsítottjait' [Suspects of the series of murders against Roma were arrested], in: Origo (21.08.2009), available at: http://www.origo.hu/itthon/20090821-romagyilkossagok-bejelentesre-keszul-a-rendorseg.html (Date of access: 19.02.2012)
[13] "Mit üzen a romagyilkosság egyik vádlottjának tetoválása és pulóvere?' [What is the message of the sweatshirt and the tattoo of one of the defendants of the series of murders against Roma?] in: Origo (25.03.2011), available at: http://www.origo.hu/itthon/20110325-megkezdodott-a-romagyilkossag-targyalasa-mit-uzen-az-egyik-vadlott-oltozete.html (Date of access: 19.02.2012).
