Two drunken men attack Roma family, threaten arson and murder

On Saturday 14 May, two young men attacked a Roma family in Gbelce, Slovakia. They are said to have shouted fascist slogans and to have threatened the occupants of the home with death.

The men are said to have threatened a woman with three young children that they would burn down the house with them in it. Police have charged the two youths, aged 18 and 19.

Slovak station TV Markíza reported that the youths allegedly first got drunk at a disco before going on a rampage in the courtyard of the building. They then approached the house where the Roma family lives and started yelling fascist slogans and vulgar abuse. They jumped over the fence and continued their rampage in the yard of the home. The Roma family defended themselves by taking up pitchforks and doing their best to fight off their attackers.

The mother of one of the youths who has been charged is defending her son, saying she did not raise him to commit violence. The younger of those charged claims his older friend was the one who shouted the abuse. The 18-year-old also seemed to express remorse, mumbling all but incomprehensibly, “I’m sorry…”. His relatives are defending him, saying they cannot imagine him behaving in such a way. “We did not raise him like that …”, his mother solemnly swore.

Should it be proven that the youths really did threaten the family as witnesses claim, they face up to eight years in prison. Police, however, will also investigate whether it was proportionate for the Roma family members to have defended themselves with pitchforks.