Legal Challenge Seeks Justice for Violently Evicted Roma in Russia

STRASBOURG—In a major legal challenge to human rights violations against Roma in Russia, the Open Society Justice Initiative submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights seeking justice for victims of the violent and unlawful destruction of the Roma village of Dorozhnoe, Kaliningrad.

The Justice Initiative is representing 33 individuals before the European Court. During the week of May 29 through June 2, 2006, special police forces and Russian government officials bulldozed the victims' houses in Dorozhnoe village and set fire to the ruins and the applicants' possessions. The authorities menaced the victims with machine guns and shouted racist remarks, such as "You the Gypsies—get out of our land," in the process of the forced evictions.

The court papers, filed Nov. 3, seek a declaration that the Russian government has breached numerous provisions of the European Convention of Human Rights. They also request monetary and non-monetary damages for the victims, including restitution of legal ownership of their homes. The displaced Roma, all of whom owned their homes, have lived legally in them for years.

"The Roma of Dorozhnoe have had both their rights and their possessions trampled," said James A. Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative. "The families have been separated in scattered, makeshift shelters as winter sets in. We are asking the court to remedy this grievous situation as quickly as possible."

The segregated Roma community in Dorozhnoe was created in 1956 when Soviet authorities forced them to settle on what was then unwanted land. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the local government began the process of granting Roma residents full ownership of their homes. But in 2002, the government halted the process and began a concerted effort to drive the Roma off their land.

A government propaganda campaign vilified the community as criminals and drug dealers. At the same time, a series of sham legal proceedings stripped residents of ownership of their homes. The May 29 through June 2 operation capped a series of demolition campaigns carried out by Russian authorities in Kaliningrad in 2005 and 2006. By June 2006, approximately 40 homes, comprising the entire Roma community of Dorozhnoe, had been razed, effectively wiping out the whole village.

The application filed by the Justice Initiative accuses authorities of demolishing the homes, separating families and forcing the victims to find makeshift shelter, thereby violating their rights to non-discrimination, life, protection against inhuman treatment, and enjoyment of their home, private and family life, as well as freedom from interference with their possessions.

Human rights organizations have documented an increasing trend of housing evictions of Roma communities throughout the Russian Federation and other Council of Europe states. "The European Court must ensure that states do not discriminate against Roma through unlawful forced evictions," said Goldston. "With this case, we hope not only to vindicate our clients' rights, but also send a clear message to states that they cannot evict Roma communities with impunity."