Moldovan and Others v. Romania (dec.)

Information Note on the Court’s case-law 54

June 2003

Moldovan and Others v. Romania (dec.) - 41138/98 and 64320/01

Decision 3.6.2003 [Section II]

Article 3

Inhuman treatment

Destruction of Roma houses by mob: admissible

Article 8

Article 8-1

Respect for home

Destruction of Roma houses by mob: admissible

The 24 applicants are all Romanian nationals of Roma origin who lived in the same village. In September 1993 a row broke out between three Roma men and another villager that led to the death of the latter’s son who tried to intervene. The three men fled to a nearby house. A large, angry crowd gathered outside, including the local police commander and several officers. The house was set on fire. Two of the men managed to emerge from the house, but were pursued by the crowd and beaten to death. The third was prevented from escaping from the building and died in the fire. The applicants allege that the police encouraged the crowd to destroy more Roma property in the village. By the following day, thirteen Roma houses had been completely destroyed and several more had been very badly damaged. Much of the applicants’ personal property was also destroyed. In July 1994, three civilians were arrested and charged with extremely serious murder. They were released within a few hours, however, and their arrests warrants were cancelled. With regard to police involvement in the incident, the case was referred to the Military Prosecutor’s Office. In September 1995 all charges against the local police commanders were dropped on the basis that their inability to stop the crowd did not in itself constitute participation. In August 1997, the Public Prosecutor issued an indictment against 11 civilians. A criminal trial, in conjunction with a civil action, began the following November, at which a succession of witnesses testified to the active involvement of the police in the killings and burnings. Judgment in the criminal case was delivered in July 1998. The court found that the accused had acted in different ways to eliminate the Roma from their village. The preliminary investigation was deemed inadequate. Five villagers were convicted of extremely serious murder; twelve villagers, including these five, were convicted of other offences. The court sentenced them to between one and seven years’ imprisonment. The prosecution appealed against the leniency of the sentences. The appellate court convicted a sixth villager of extremely serious murder and increased the sentence of one of the defendants; the other defendants had their sentences reduced. In November 1999, the Supreme Court upheld the convictions for destruction of property but reduced the charge of extremely serious murder to one of serious murder for three of the defendants. The following year, two of them received a presidential pardon. Shortly after the attack on Roma property, the Romanian Government allocated 25 million ROL for the reconstruction of the houses damaged or destroyed. Only four houses were rebuilt with these funds. In November 1994, the Government allocated a further 32 million ROL and four more houses were rebuilt. The applicants have submitted photographs to show that these houses were very badly built. Judgment in the civil case was delivered in January 2001. The Regional Court awarded damages for houses that had not been rebuilt and maintenance allowances for the children of the deceased. The applicants’ claims for loss of personal property were all dismissed as unsubstantiated. Their claims for non-pecuniary damages were also dismissed.

Admissible under Articles 3, 6 § 1, 8 and 14.

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This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.

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