Washington – The United States Helsinki Commission will hold a briefing to examine the plight of Roma in the Russian Federation.
Roma in Russia
Thursday, September 23, 2004
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
2325 Rayburn House Office Building
Panelists:
Dr. Dimitrina Petrova, Executive Director, European Roma Rights Center
Leonid Raihman, Consultant, Open Society Institute
Alexander Torokhov, Director, Roma Ural
In the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Beslan, Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to the potential for many ethnic-confessional conflicts in the Federation. Separately, he also remarked that “one of the tasks pursued by the terrorists was to stoke ethnic hatred, to blow up the whole of our North Caucasus. . . . Anyone who feels sympathetic toward such provocations will be viewed as accomplices of terrorists and terrorism,” Putin warned.
In this context, Roma, like other minorities in Russia, report that they are frequently the victims of racially motivated attacks and have been targeted by law enforcement agents on the basis of their ethnic identity.
This briefing will examine the situation of the Romani minority in Russia, with a focus on hate crimes, police abuse, and discrimination. Panelists will provide background information on Russia’s Romani minority, setting their discussion in the current context of the current political, economic and security climate in Russia.
