Attacked and injured Roma persons at the pool in Veles

What happened: In the City Pool Snoopy in Veles, several Roma persons from Skopje were beaten by around ten persons, among which were members of the security guards from the pool security agency – SGS. One of the lifeguards of the Snoopy Pool in Veles, in a rude and violent way, addressed the boy from the Roma ethnic community who jumped into the pool with the words “Who are you to tell me who can jump in the pool! You can’t!” The boy’s relatives reacted to this, causing a minor scuffle which was stopped soon enough, after the security – SGS and the owner of the pool intervened. In the words of one of the beaten citizens, at around 19:00, when almost all the guests of the pool left and while they were preparing to return home to Skopje, while his nephew I. U. was walking out of the dressing room, and without any explanation, a person with a glass bottle struck him on the head, after which he had a visible bodily injury – a cut above his right eye. The person further adds that they then came to see what was happening, but at that moment, about twenty people in civilian clothes entered with batons and bars, and began to beat them. According to his statements, the attackers, including members of the security guard of the pool from SGS, were called by the boss, the lifeguard and other members of the pool security. Twenty minutes later, after they had already been beaten and bloody, police officers intervened, handcuffed the Roma people and began to shout at them.
Date, time and location of the incident: 23 July, around 17:00, pool Snoopy Veles.
Source of information: Electronic media outlet Libertas.
Victim(s) involved: Two persons.
Type of crime(s): Violence (Article 386, CC), Body injury (Article 130, CC), Racial and other Discrimination (Article 417, CC)
Perpetrator(s): A group of around ten people.
Brief description of the event with bias indicators: In this incident, the bias motive is racial discrimination, while the bias indicators are:
1. Content of the threats – the attacked person was not told that jumping in the pool was forbidden for everyone; he was specifically told that he is not allowed to jump in the pool;
2. The victim’s perception – the victims see this event as an incident with bias motivation.
Status of the case: Under investigation/ Adequate charges are expected to ensue.
Response of the local authorities: The MoI’s response to the MHC request for public information regarding this incident stated that SIA Veles and the Basic Public Prosecution are working on collecting additional information on the incident and according to them SIA Veles will file adequate charges.
Impact on the victim(s) and the community: This incident calls into question the ethnic coexistence between the two largest communities in the country.