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DE RUEHSL #0163 0981501
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081501Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2425
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000163 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV LO
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL ROMA DAY MARRED BY TORTURE SCANDAL 
 
REF: STATE 20359 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: International Roma Day 2009 began with 
Slovakia's own version of Abu Ghraib, as the leading daily 
SME broke the story of six Roma minors who were forced to 
strip and beat each other while in police custody in the 
eastern Slovak city of Kosice.  This put an extremely somber 
tone to the otherwise celebratory cultural events sponsored 
by the government and civil society, and overshadowed our own 
message regarding the corrosive effects of societal 
segregation.  The Roma Plenipotentiary, the Minister of 
Interior, and Slovakia's Chief of Police all condemned the 
incident, which we will continued to monitor closely.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On March 21, six minors, ostensibly from the infamous 
Kosice Roma ghetto Lunik IX, were detained by police after 
allegedly mugging an elderly woman outside a store.  Once in 
police custody, as video footage on SME's website graphically 
portrays, the six boys were forced to beat each other while a 
dog barks at them and the police laugh. In subsequent 
footage, the boys are forced to remove all of their clothes 
and endure the catcalls of the police. 
 
¶3. (U) Chief of Police Pavol Packa flew to Kosice immediately 
after the story broke the morning of April 8, and pledged to 
fire all of the responsible policemen.  Interior Minister 
Robert Kalinak told the press that he would not resign over 
the incident, which he viewed as the isolated acts of a few 
individuals rather than a systematic failure of the police. 
Kalinak said "it is not acceptable that the police punish 
street pickpockets and robbers.  We have courts for this." 
Kalinak also instructed the Ministry to begin criminal 
prosecution for misuse of public office and blackmail. 
Kalinak said that, thus far, nine policemen have been 
suspended and seven will be fired for violating the police 
oath. 
 
¶4. (U) Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Affairs Anna 
Botosova told PolOff that she had spoken to both Packa and 
Kalinak, and was satisfied with their responses, although of 
course she condemned the egregious human rights abuse the 
case represents.  She also issued a public statement pledging 
to monitor the investigation of the torture case. 
 
¶5. (U) Former Slovak Ambassador to the United States Martin 
Butora called the horrendous incident Slovakia's own "Abu 
Ghraib." He praised the investigative journalism of SME, and 
said that the careful way in which the paper broke the story 
helped encourage prompt government action.  Butora also told 
the Charge that by 5:00 a.m. on April 8 there were over one 
thousand comments posted on the SME website about the video. 
Because so many of them were racist, Sme's site monitors 
could not keep up, and were thus forced to erase all existing 
comments and shut down the comment option to avoid 
broadcasting more offensive material. 
 
¶6. (U) Prior to the news of the torture scandal, post had 
arranged several prominent media spots for the Charge to mark 
International Roma Day. He appeared on April 8 on TV Markiza 
discussing the U.S. experience with the "separate but equal" 
doctrine, and connected that to the separate and inferior 
conditions of Slovakia's Roma community.  Post also placed an 
op-ed in leading daily SME with the same theme (e-mailed to 
EUR/CE).  PolOffs attended Roma Day events sponsored by the 
Plenipotentiary's Office and the NGO community. 
 
¶7. (U) COMMENT:  We do not yet know if SME held the story to 
run on International Roma Day, but it certainly presents a 
stark contrast to the pre-planned celebrations which the Roma 
community and the Slovak Government have organized.  Given 
the increasingly tense relations between the Fico 
Administration and the press (septel), we will follow closely 
the government's response to Sme's reporting.  While PM Fico 
may be tempted to portray it as another attempt to tar the 
government, the incident is so grave that he will need to 
tread carefully.  Post will monitor the government's 
investigation of this deeply troubling human rights abuse 
very closely, while continuing our long-standing engagement 
with, and outreach to, Slovakia's marginalized Roma 
community.  End Comment. 
EDDINS