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Roma woman Paraskevi Kokoni was shopping with her ​​young son and her nephew Kostas who suffers from mental disabilities when a group of people attacked them. They beat the woman and her nephew using firewood, which they had taken from a truck parked nearby. None of the passers-by stopped to help her and the policeman from the police station where Paraskevi went to complain told her that he was afraid to go alone to the site of the attack.

"Two of the men jumped on me and the others punched and kicked Kostas. I cried for help but no one came to help us," says Paraskevi.

The attack happened in October 2012 in Etoliko village near Messolonghi and is just one of the many cases of attacks against Roma in Greece. Thereafter the family no longer felt safe and moved to live in a neighbouring town. The attack was due to strong anti-Roma attitudes that are common for the village. The Roma community in Etoliko is the victim of many similar attacks carried out by villagers, some of whom are believed to be associated with far-right groups. In 2012 and 2013, several times groups of men attacked Roma people in their houses, terrorized them and destroyed their property. Some of the Roma were injured and the majority of them left Etoliko because they were afraid. The victims say that police officers witnessed the attacks but failed to effectively intervene to stop the attackers.
 
The case of Paraskevi is part of the report of the international NGO Amnesty International on racist attacks against Roma in Greece, the Czech Republic and France which was released on the occasion of the International Romani Day (8 April).

Paraskevi Kokoni, her 25-year-old nephew Kostas and 13-year-old son Andreas shot in Etoliko village on 21 January 2014, Photo: Amnesty International

Illegal and forced clearances of public spaces, discrimination at schools, police raids conducted without a specific reason and only because it comes down to Roma camps, and an increase in the number of attacks by racist formations are the serious accusations against Greece stated by human rights activists.

Amnesty International strongly criticizes the police, indicating the "preventive actions" in Roma camps as the most typical example of mistreatment of Roma. In the first three quarters of 2013, 1,131 such raids took place and checked 52,431 people, 19,067 of whom were taken to police stations for identification and 1,305 of whom were eventually arrested.

Expert on European affairs in the German branch of Amnesty International Janna Sauerteig defines this police practice as illegal. "This is not only because the police did not have enough legal arguments to arrest them but also because this is an act of discrimination against Roma," she says.

The report points out that the Greek police make almost no effort to pursue and apprehend the attackers of Roma or to investigate whether their motives are racist. When the victims do not have a residence permit in Greece, the police often arrest the victims themselves instead of their attackers. In addition, policemen often advise the Roma not to file complaints or lawsuits, while in other cases, the perpetrators of hate-motivated crimes are policemen. The report concludes that this position of the police has increased the number of racist attacks against Roma.

According to the human rights activists, the systemic discrimination against Roma is due not only to the passive role of the police but also to the tolerance towards the attacks on the part of the Greek government. "This has to change. Firstly, the Greek government has to clearly condemn all attacks against Roma, whether the perpetrators are policemen or citizens. Then subsequently it will have to ensure that the competent authorities will investigate whether each of the attacks was driven by racist motives and that the attackers will be prosecuted."

In addition to the member states, the European Commission is also responsible for the protection of Roma. Amnesty International urged the commissioners to engage in this purpose even more and, based on the European directives against racism, to take more action than in the past.

"If the directives are not observed we urge the European Commission to open infringement procedures for violating the EU law against those member states which have not introduced them into their national legislation," says Sauerteig.

According to Amnesty International, the application of European laws is crucial to eliminate systemic discrimination against Roma in Europe.