A man with facial bruises and a swollen eye whose children are crying and distressed. Roma community members in Romania have been sharing a video with such content through social media in recent days.
The 37-year-old Roma man from Piatra Neamț, located to the north of Bucharest, has alleged he was beaten by police officers. The reason for the beating, allegedly, was that when police stopped the taxi in which he was riding, he refused to identify himself.
The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) has republished information about the allegations from Libertatea, a newspaper in Romania. A video clip shared on social media by Roma rights activist Ciprian Necula shows the man leaving a police station, unsteady on his feet, his shirt bloodied, with bruises on his face and a swollen eye, and his children waiting for him, crying and distressed.
The man later called the emergency 112 number and reported that he had been assaulted by police. Another video shows him being taken away in an ambulance.
