Several hundred Roma protested in front of the police station in Gračanica, due to, as they say, the brutality of members of the Kosovo Police Service during the arrest of their compatriot Burhan Ibrahimović, reports the RTS portal. .

The Roma at the protest asked the Police Inspectorate for a fair investigation and punishment of a group of police officers who, as they claim, used excessive force and brutally beat Ibrahimovic, who in the meantime received several calls from the Police Inspectorate for questioning.

The crowd carried banners that read 'Stop Brutality', 'Justice Now', 'We Are Not Your Punching Bag', 'Stop Violence'.

Afrim Salihi, a relative of the beaten Roma, claims that Ibrahimovic was brought to the police station to give a statement about an argument with a resident of Gracanica. He adds that, because he was punished, Ibrahimovic threatened to file a lawsuit and hire a lawyer. After that, as Salihi claims, he was beaten by several policemen at the police station.

Ibrahimović from Gračanica grew up in Germany, and now lives again in his hometown. "Thank you all for coming. We live in a democracy, but there are many people who had the same problems and were not allowed to speak. At first I was afraid and I was not allowed to share this case with others, but I decided to report this case", Ibrahimovic told the crowd in front of the police station.

Dritan Berisha, one of the organizers of the protest, said that this is a rally not only against the brutality of the police that happened on August 19 in the police station in Gračanica, but also resistance to other brutalities that members of the Roma community go through in other places in Kosovo. and Metochia.

The protest in front of the police station in Gračanica was controlled by police officers in uniforms and civilian clothes, but the journalists were directed to the police administration in Pristina just in case.

At the end of the protest, the gathered left banners on the steps of the entrance to the police station and dispersed peacefully.

Link - video: https://www.rts.rs/vesti/politika/5263470/protest-roma-u-gracanici-zbog-torture-policije-prema-njihovom-sunarodniku.html

Officers transferred the case to the bureaucrats at City Hall to be dealt with as a misdemeanor. The incident sparked tensions in the city at the time and several dozen local Romani residents assembled outside a police station to ask that the case be investigated.

The police also had to address the dissemination of disinformation by a local resident on social media. The conflict between two small groups of children on a local square in Přerov transpired on 10 July.

The investigation of the incident has now been closed by police as a misdemeanor against civil coexistence. “An investigation and operations were performed in this matter, on the basis of which we have categorized this case as a misdemeanor against civil coexistence. It was ascertained that two small groups of minors mutually attacked each other verbally. It was not confirmed that any of the children threatened anybody with a knife or any other kind of weapon. All circumstances of the case were logged and the material was sent yesterday to the relevant administrative unit at Přerov City Hall, which will deal with it according to its competences,” Zajícová posted to the police website today.

Link: https://romea.cz/en/czech-republic/prerov-czech-republic-july-incident-between-romani-and-ukrainian-children-was-verbal-and-involved-no-weapons-police-have-transferred-it-to-the-misdemeanor-commissio