On December 6, 2008, a 15-year-old student was shot dead by a police officer. Since then, every year on this day, rallies, marches and events are held in his memory, as was the case on 6 December 2022.
It is noted that the previous day, 5 December 2022, a policeman had also shot a Roma minor in the head.
Following the march of 6 December 2022, a series of incidents of police violence and arbitrariness were reported and recorded on video (see 1, 2, 3 and 1, 2, 3, 4).
One complaint also alleged that, after the end of the march, police forces engaged in a series of unprovoked arrests and detentions. Some of those detained were severely beaten and had to be taken to hospital.
Among those arrested was a lawyer, who was arrested on allegedly false misdemeanour charges, whilst another lawyer was reportedly ‘brutally beaten’ with a baton, resulting in a serious head injury that needed stitches.
In a state governed by the rule of law, the police authorities must be governed by certain principles, including the principle of legality, the principle of proportionality, the prohibition of the abuse of police power and the respect for and protection of human rights.
The powers of the police authorities and the conduct to be displayed by them in the performance of their duties are regulated, inter alia, by Decree 141/1991 and Decree 254/2004.
Although the police may use force to enforce the law, this does not mean that all use of preventive or repressive force by the police is lawful. On the contrary, the arbitrary use of the power to use force and police action in excess of legal limits is a dangerous phenomenon for a democracy.
A series of complaints, publications and videos cast serious doubt on the legality of the behavior of the police forces following the march of 6 December 2022.
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