MINELRES: ERRC Action in Hungary Housing Discrimination Case

[European Roma Rights Center]

European Roma Rights Center Legal Action at the European Court of Human 
Rights Challenges Housing Discrimination in Hungary
1 October 2003

On 26 September 2003, the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), together with 
the Legal Defense Bureau for National and Ethnic Minorities (NEKI), filed a 
pre-application letter against Hungary with the European Court on Human 
Rights in Strasbourg. The submission concerns racially-motivated threats 
and discrimination in access to housing, perpetrated by the local 
government officials and the non-Romani residents of Gyure, and asserts 
violations of Article 3 (freedom from inhuman and/or degrading treatment), 
Article 8 (right to family and private life), Article 1 of Protocol 1 
(right to peaceful enjoyment of ones possessions), Article 13 (right to an 
effective domestic remedy) and Article 14 (right to non-discrimination) of 
the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ms. Bertalan Nagy is a Hungarian citizen of Romani origin with six children 
whose house was totally destroyed by floods in 2001. With the financial 
support provided by the Hungarian Government, she decided to buy a house in 
Gyure. On 27 July 2001 she signed a preliminary contract with the owners of 
the house, Mr. and Mrs. Kahlik, both Ukrainian citizens of Hungarian origin.

After it became publicaly known that Mr. and Mrs. Kahlik intended to sell 
their house to Ms. Nagy, several non-Romani inhabitants of Gyure as well as 
a number of local government officials resorted to threats and coersion to 
try to block the upcoming real estate transaction.

On 10 August 2001, despite the opposition, the purchasing contract was 
finally signed. Under Hungarian law, however, the sale required the 
approval of the County Office of Public Administration. More than two years 
later, this office is formally yet to decide on the matter.

On the same day, the mayor and the notary held a meeting at the local 
council office following which five men, driving a council-owned car, went 
to the Kahlik's family house and threatened them by saying that the whole 
village would rather gather and burn their house down then allow it to be 
sold to Roma. Later that day, Mr. Laszlo Herceg, the mayor of Gyure, spared 
no effort and came personally to ask the Kahliks to terminate the contract 
as "Roma cannot buy a house in Gyure" and "no Gypsy may live on the main 
street".

In the evening of 10 August 2001, an unknown person, whom the Kahliks could 
hear but not see as they were afraid to leave the house, caused damage to 
their gate with an axe, called them "dirty Russians", and even threatened 
to kill them. Ms. Kahlik reported the incident but the competent authority, 
namely the notary of Gyure, terminated the investigation stating that the 
perpetrator could not be identified.

On 15 August 2001, Ms. Nagy was called to come to the Council office for a 
meeting. The mayor of Gyure, the notary, a representative of the Ministry 
of Internal Affaires, the deputy mayor of Jand (the village affected by the 
by floods) and a representative of the Minority Self-Government of Gyure 
all took part. Ms. Nagy was told not to buy the house because the Kahlik 
family, being Ukrainian, could not sell the property. In addition, Ms. Nagy 
found out that, two days earlier, the notary of Gy�re had gone so far as to 
sequester the Kahliks family house based on a debt that subsequently turned 
out to be non-existent.

The Kahlik family and Ms. Nagy, assisted by NEKI as part of a joint 
litigation project with the ERRC, filed a criminal complaint and a civil 
complaint for damages. The criminal complaint was filed against the mayor 
and the notary as well as against an unknown perpetrator, respectively, for 
misuse of official power, infringement of constitutional rights, damage 
caused to the Kahlik's family house, using racist language, and finally 
threatening their very lives. Despite compelling evidence submitted by the 
applicants, including taped conversations containing threats, both lawsuits 
were ultimately rejected.

In view of the obvious inability and/or unwillingness of the Hungarian 
authorities to provide Ms. Nagy and the Kahlik family with a remedy 
domestically, ERRC and NEKI have decided to turn to the European Court of 
Human Rights on their behalf and request that international justice be 
served and their clients afforded adequate and comprehensive redress.

For further details on ERRC action in the case, please contact Ms. Ioana 
Banu, staff attorney at the European Roma Rights Center, at: Ioana@errc.org 
. Further information on the human rights situation of Roma is available on 
the ERRC internet web site at: www.errc.org

_____________________________________________

The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest law 
organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal defence 
in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the European 
Roma Rights Center, visit the ERRC on the web at http://www.errc.org.

European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary


Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax:   +36 1 4132201

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