The Helsinki Committee, together with the other members of the Network for Protection against Discrimination, reacted to the police brutality and arbitrariness towards the homeless citizens, which was reported by several media outlets.
The Ministry of the Interior sent information to the media that police officers from the Aerodrom Police Station had taken measures and activities to establish violations of the curfew by a group of citizens who had gathered in public and disturbed public order and peace by playing loud music.
According to the statement of the Ministry of Interior, five people first behaved rudely towards the police officers, after which they physically attacked them, and one of them threw a stone at their police van. Based on these events, proceedings were initiated against five persons for determining misdemeanor or criminal liability.
According to the information from the Ministry of Interior, this is a case from which the personal responsibility of several people living in the specified location can be determined. They have already been identified, deprived of their liberty and have already been charged with determining acts of responsibility.
Hence, the force used on people (men, women, children, the elderly) who are in no way involved in the event shows that the police used force to repel an imaginary attack.
Recently in Stip (on May 12, on Radanski Pat), the media reported a similar incident with the police, where there was a use of force against a group of citizens due to a passenger motor vehicle loaded with wood, driven by Roma.
The conclusion of the Helsinki Committee is that this shows the unprofessional attitude, police brutality and arbitrariness in dealing with Roma and other categories of poor and marginalized citizens is a common practice of the police. Such treatment of vulnerable groups by the police will not restore the trust of the police, but, on the contrary, will destroy it, contributing to the citizens feeling threatened and frightened, suffering mental stress, instead of feeling protected by police officers.
Recommendation: The Helsinki Committee and other members of the Network for the Prevention of Discrimination demand the determination of personal responsibility by every police officer if he has exceeded his official authority, as well as all persons who have issued such an order. We ask the Sector for Internal Control, Criminal Investigations and Professional Standards at the Ministry of Interior to initiate a procedure for investigating the case and, if abuse of the powers of police officers is established, to initiate criminal proceedings and impose the strictest sanction on them. working relation.
