Fundación Secretariado Gitano

We denounce the anti-Roma attacks that some Roma families have suffered in Íllora, Granada, after the death of a young man from the town [editar]

• Equal treatment
• Andalusia

On August 15, a 19-year-old boy died, after an altercation between young people during the celebration of the local festivities in Illora (Granada). The alleged perpetrator of the aggression has already surrendered voluntarily to the authorities.

The same day a demonstration was called that turned violent when some neighbors began to demand the banishment of the Roma families from the town, shouting “You have to kick them out”. In the context of the demonstration, several neighbors attacked their houses, throwing stones at the windows, overturning their vehicles and burning their property. As a result, the Roma family of the alleged perpetrator has fled the village for fear of reprisals.

The mayor of Íllora, Antonio Salazar, convened an extraordinary plenary session on Tuesday the 16th in which it was agreed to decree three days of official mourning. In the same act, the mayor announced that he would ask the judicial authorities to impose the penalty of “deprivation of the right to live in certain places” on those responsible for the crime.

From Fundación Secretariado Gitano we would like to point out the following:

• We regret the death of the young man and ask that justice do his job and punish the author of these acts.
• It is intolerable in a rule of law for a group of neighbors to act on their own outside the law attacking Roma families and their property and expelling them from their homes.
• We ask the mayor, the public authorities to guarantee the protection and human rights of the families who are unjustly suffering these serious attacks. Likewise, we remember that the statements made by the public authorities must avoid any kind of demonstration that incites hatred, especially in the context of this type of event.
• We ask the administration of justice (Prosecutor's Office and competent legal body) to act ex officio by investigating the anti-Gypsy incidents against the Roma families of the town and punishing the guilty so that these acts do not go unpunished.
• We ask to the National Government Subdelegation Authorities in Granada to take all the necessary preventive measures to guarantee the protection of families and their property, and prevent this type of incidents.

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