A Roma woman who was beaten by a minibus driver in 2019 in Zalău, Romania, has been fined 1,800 lei [EUR 370]. She also has to pay court costs in the amount of 800 lei [EUR 165] because she has been found guilty of disturbing the peace and public order.
The minibus driver who assaulted her, including with racist rhetoric, has been given a suspended prison sentence. According to the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), the verdict convicts the Romanian justice system of racism.
"The twisted verdict of the court just compounds the scandal and serves as a damning indictment of a criminal justice system that is racist to its core," Advocacy & Policy Manager Bernard Rorke says of the verdict on the ERRC's website. "This appalling judgement is yet another example of how systemic antigypsyism skews outcomes for Romani victims of racially-motivated violence and denies them justice."
