112 Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January – June 2007 On 10 March a 30-year-old man from Nigeria was reportedly verbally and physically assaulted in Bratislava. The attackers allegedly shouted: "What are you doing here, negro?! This is notAfrica!" and knocked him to the ground, according to the NGO People Against Racism (PAR). PAR reported that when police arrived on the spot and the man pointed out his attackers, the police officers allegedly told him: "Shut up, you're not in Africa!" PAR fears that the lack of police commitment could constitute a trend which could encourage such attacks in Slovakia as this was the fourth attack reported by the organization in March. The other three incidents were an attack on Mexican students and a Spaniard; on a group of Vietnamese; and on a young Romani man who was seriously injured and robbed. Attack on a Hungarian student (update to AI Index: POL 10/001/2007 – Slovakia) Ethnic Hungarian student Hedviga Malinová lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court after the police halted a criminal prosecution opened in relation to the alleged ethnically motivated attack on her by two men in Nitra on 25 August 2006, after she was heard speaking Hungarian. On 1 June the Constitutional Court dismissed her complaint, ruling that she could address it to local prosecutor’s office or to the general prosecutor. A police investigation in 2006 had concluded that she fabricated her account, and on 14 May criminal proceedings were opened against her for alleged perjury after a man accused her the previous November of giving false testimony. The man had killed himself on 4 May. Refugee and asylum issues In January, amendments made in December 2006 to the Law on Foreigners entered into force. The amendments transposed into Slovak legislation the European Union’s so-called Asylum Amnesty International Qualification Directive. 6 As a result people in danger of suffering serious violations such as torture or the death penalty if returned forcibly to their country of origin, but who have been rejected by definition of refugee status, [not sure what this means? Is it eg but whose application for refugee status has been rejected?] will enjoy subsidiary protection and the right to stay in the country. Victims of human trafficking will be also allowed now to prolong their stay in Slovakia to obtain a residence permit and to work. With regard to asylum issues, the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, remained concerned about Slovakia’s reluctance to grant asylum to refugees. The government’s Migration Office reported that in 2006, Slovakia only granted refugee status to eight people from a total of 2,871 applicants. Threat of deportation of an asylumseeker to Algeria During the period under review AI approached the Slovak authorities twice regarding Algerian national Mustapha Labsi, who remained in custody following his deportation from Austria to the Slovak Republic on 2 May. His family and lawyer had been unable to contact him since the deportation. They and AI feared that he might have been at imminent risk of deportation to Algeria – or might, indeed, have already been returned there -- where he faced a real risk of human rights violations. Mustapha Labsi was detained by authorities in the UK in February 2001, on suspicion of links to a suspected terrorist group in Germany. No charges were brought against 6 Council Directive 2004/83/EC, of 29 April 2004, on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection granted AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007