"The children are scared, they beat us and insult us": Police raid in a Roma neighborhood in Belgrade
On Saturday evening, the Belgrade police raided a Roma settlement in Palilula municipality on Vuka Vrcevica Street. Zojani Demush, whose house they broke into, tells H1 that the policemen were violent, threatened and insulted them on a national basis.
Zojani Demus told N1 that the police broke into his house in search of a neighbor suspected of attacking a police officer.
He says that the policemen were violent, beating the women in the house, and the housewives insulted them by shouting "Gypsies" and cursing at them.
Everything, he adds, was also attended by the inspector, who earlier in the day was with the Demushi family for the same reason. According to Demus, the police broke into other houses during the evening, acting in the same way.
"They make us spy for them." They come while you're sleeping, they don't have a warrant, they say, "What are Gypsies, do you know this, do you know that," Demus recounts his experiences with the police in the neighborhood where he lives.
He says that this situation has been going on for a month, and members of the police kept coming in search of a neighbor who was fighting with the police.
"Drugs are sold here, they are sold, they know it all," remarked our interlocutor.
He points out that everyone is scared, especially the children, and they don't know what else to do except to turn to the media.
H1 tried to get answers about the police action on Vuk Vrcević Street from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia, but no one answered the phone during the evening.