Resita, Romania 2024: Hate assault on a minority boy

Country                                                Romania             

Year                                                       2024

Affected group/minority              Hungarian minority

Perpetrator                                       Two underage Romanian boys, teammates of the abused boy

Type of case                                       Hate act

Type of act                                          Assault on a person

Media:                                                  Online platforms/communication channels

Reactions:                                           Minority community members condemned the attack in the media. The police launched an                                                                     investigation. Mikó Imre Minority Rights Legal Services Assistance made a complaint to the                                                                   Romanian National Council for Combatting Discrimination

Brief description:            

As the European Championship 2024 approached, a training camp for gymnasts was held at the Resita (in Caraș-Severin/Krassó-Szörény County) sports complex, where young athletes organised parties after training sessions. At such an event, two Romanian gymnasts, F.B. and D.P., tied the Hungarian minority gymnast to a radiator, cut his hair bald, stripped him naked, forced him to consume alcohol, lay on top of him and mimicked sexual contact. The other members of the team witnessed these scenes without any of them intervening. Meanwhile, they shouted at him “ungure, ungure” (Hungarian, Hungarian). Experiencing this severe humiliation, the athlete left the training camp the next day, went home to Lugoj in Timiș County, and told their parents about the drastic abuse that he had been subjected to.

A general resentment could be felt among the members of the Hungarian community. Many of them expressed their outrage in social media posts.  Leaders of the Hungarian community and different organizations also spoke on the matter in the media and their social media posts. The police from Caraș-Severin/Krassó-Szörény county launched an investigation into this case.  The Romanian Gymnastics Federation tried to cover up the case, however, according to ProSport (a daily Romanian newspaper), which revealed the case, not only did the public become aware, but also the human rights organizations started to take action.  According to the Director of the National Council for Combatting Discrimination, Csaba Asztalos, the issue of criminal liability arises in this case. We can talk about at least four crimes.  Hunor Kelemen, the President of DAHR/UDMR/RMDSZ, also publicly called on the Romanian government to order an investigation.   The Mikó Imre Minority Rights Legal Services Assistance made a complaint to the Romanian National Council for Combatting Discrimination to investigate the matter and also sent out a newsletter to draw attention to the ethnically motivated violence.

More information on the case can be obtained from:

https://transtelex.ro/kozelet/2024/04/05/kiskoru-magyar-tornaszt-bantalmaztak-sulyosan-roman-tarsai-a-resicai-edzotaborban

https://maszol.ro/belfold/Kelemen-Hunor-Eddig-es-ne-tovabb-A-magyarellenesseget-vissza-kell-szoritani

https://www.3szek.ro/load/cikk/164970/magyarsaga-miatt-bantalmaztak-a-fiatal-sportolot

https://maszol.ro/sport/Botrany-a-tornaszvalogatott-edzotaboraban-magyar-kamaszt-kinoztak-meg-tarsai

https://www.prosport.ro/alte-sporturi/strigator-la-cer-gimnast-de-lot-national-torturat-de-doi-colegi-in-cantonamentul-de-la-resita-l-au-legat-de-calorifer-l-au-tuns-si-l-au-supus-unor-scene-de-neimaginat-pozitia-fr-de-gimnastica-19861622

Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko, https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-a-pommel-horse-6571948/