A MEP of the liberal Free Democrats on Wednesday strongly criticised Hungary’s police force for the way in which it has so far investigated a series of attacks against Roma.
In a statement sent to MTI, Viktoria Mohacsi also noted that she had asked an independent body of civil legal experts for an opinion on the investigation of the recent fatal attack on a Roma father and his five-year-old in Tatarszentgyorgy, C Hungary.
“Concerning Tatarszentgyorgy case, police at first explained it as an accident, without accepting multiple evidence indicating murder, such as pellets found in the boy’s clothing which was full of bloodstains and holes,” she said.
Mohacsi, who is herself a Roma, said police in most cases had rushed to rule out the possibility of a racist motivation behind a series of attacks in which seven Roma have died.
“Making swift statements to the media, the police hinted that Roma had been settling accounts among themselves,” she said.
Mohacsi noted that she had written a letter last July to national police chief Jozsef Bencze, asking the police force to investigate whether the killings had been racially motivated and whether they had been connected. Bencze responded by saying that he had no such information, she said.
Mohacsi said she hoped that the events of the past nine months provided enough material for the police to collect the necessary information and change their course of action.
