NGOs criticise the President of Hungary regarding his statements on attacks against the Roma

The HHC, the Eötvös Károly Institute, the Legal Defense Bureau for National and Ethnic Minorities, the Roma Civil Rights Foundation and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union addressed President László Sólyom in a joint letter.

The NGOs expressed their view that the statement the President made a concerning the series of serious attacks against Roma only after a Roma woman died and her daughter was seriously injured in Kisléta came too late and was not adequate. The NGOs claimed that the President referred solely to the obligation of the law enforcement agencies to investigate the case and expressed their view that the President should have taken a firm stand against racism and intolerance and make it clear that the verbal and physical attacks against members of the Roma community are not acceptable.