Two Slovaks sentenced for racially attacking Romanies

The district court in Prievidza today gave suspended sentences to two men, aged 21, who insulted Romanies and injured a 13-year-old girl last September, Trencin regional court spokesman Roman Tarabus told CTK.

The men confessed to the crime and concluded an agreement with the prosecutor about their guilt and punishment.
The suspended punishments for breach of the peace and defamation of the race was subsequently confirmed by the court, Tarabus said.

One of the men thumped the girl with his forehead into her face, causing her minor nose injury. When asked by her grandmother why he was beating the girl, he replied: "As she is a stinking dirty Gypsy."

Both drunken men verbally insulted the women standing nearby.

The court gave to one men a 5-month sentence suspended for 14 months and to the other a 7-month sentence suspended for 30 months.

Romanies in Slovakia are often targets of violent attacks, mostly by neo-Nazis.

According to official statistics, there were almost 200 racially motivated attacks last year. However, the organisation People against Racism says many attacks were not reported.