Slovakia: Three skinheads assault Romani mother and her children with racist abuse

News server Novinky.sk reported yesterday that a young Romani mother named Naděžda was targeted for attack in the Slovak village of Snina by three aggressive men who looked like skinheads. Just before 8 PM the men broke into her home where she was alone with her children, the youngest of whom is a two-week-old infant.

Naděžda told the news server that her family survived the aggressive attack only thanks to the timely intervention of police officers, who came to the scene after she hid with her children from the assailants in the bathroom. She said she was convinced that the fact that the infant had kept quiet and not given away their hiding place was part of their successful rescue.

The attackers were searching the house when police arrived. “I’m Hitler, I’m the boss here, I’m going to kill you all,” Naděžda said one assailant threatened her when he and his two friends burst into the apartment.

One allegedly shouted racist abuse at her, calling her a “filthy gypsy” and a “whore”. Naděžda said the men were probably from Košice and had shaved heads and tattoos.

The assailants’ behavior frightened the children. Naděžda said the men continued their aggressive behavior even after they were arrested and sitting in the police vehicle.

The men ended up in preliminary detention cells at the police station in Snina. “I can confirm that the case is being dealt with as a racially motivated felony by NAKA [the National Crime Agency],” Martin Wäldl, spokesperson for the Police Presidium of the Slovak Republic, told the news server.