Slovenia accused of turning Roma neighbourhoods into ‘security zones’ | Slovenia

The Slovenian government has been accused of turning Roma neighborhoods into “security zones” after the adoption of a law giving police the power to raid and surveil homes in so-called “high-risk” areas.

At midnight on Monday, the country’s parliament supported the “Šutar law,” named after Aleš Šutar, who was killed in a fight with a 21-year-old Roma man after running into a nightclub following his son’s distress call.

The incident, which took place outside the LokalPatriot club in Novo Mesto in southern Slovenia last month, led to massive street protests, the deployment of police in Roma neighborhoods and the resignation of two ministers.

Prime Minister Robert Golob, of the centre-left Freedom party, responded by promising new security measures, which he described as “not against a particular ethnic group, but against crime itself”.

But critics said the changes were discriminatory and “treated an entire minority as a security threat”.

The Law on Emergency Measures to Ensure Public Safety, which first came into effect two weeks after Šutar’s death, was watered down before the final vote on Monday, but retained a number of controversial provisions.

Police will be allowed to enter a property or means of transport in a “security risk area” without a court order if it is “unavoidably necessary to seize firearms urgently for the protection of people”.

They will also be able to use technical tools such as drones or license plate recognition for photography and recording if people’s lives or property are deemed to be at risk.

According to the legislation, “security risk areas” will be determined geographically by the general director of police or the chief of police according to the security assessment.

Mensur Haliti, vice president of the European Roma Foundation, said the law was discriminatory and called on the European Commission to examine the terms of the law.

He said: “This law turns entire neighborhoods into security zones and residents into security categories. It reduces the political cost of targeting for political gain those who are already excluded from free and fair political participation.”

“Slovenia did something that Europe has rarely acknowledged as happening in unity: it passed a law treating an entire minority as a security threat.

“A union that allows fear to become policy at home cannot teach its neighbors about democracy and the rule of law. If Europe cannot uphold its standards at home, it cannot credibly demand them abroad.”

The left-wing coalition of political parties refused to attend parliamentary hearings, describing the law as oppressive. But there is evidence of a high degree of public support for this.

Mediana, on behalf of RTV Slovenia, stated that more than 60% of respondents agreed with the government’s response.

The law was passed ahead of national elections in March, in which Golob’s party will face losing its seat to the right-wing nationalist Slovenian Democratic party led by former prime minister Janez Janša.