Serbia: 25th anniversary of brutal racist murder of 13-year-old Romani boy
18 October marks the 25th anniversary of the racist muder of 13-year-old Dušan Jovanović in Serbia. His name has become a symbol of the racist violence to which Romani people are being constantly subjected in Europe.
The hateful murder motivated by racism was perpetrated on 18 October 1997. “Just after 9 PM, the 13-year-old took a walk through the Belgrade city center to buy a Coca-Cola. From his home on Beogradská Street he headed to a nearby shop. His parents became concerned when he didn’t come back. His father went out to look for him and came across a scared group of people stooped over the motionless body of the boy not far from his house,” the Center for Roma in Vojvodina recalls the incident.
Dušan was lying on the ground after being beaten to death by neo-Nazis because he was Romani. According to the subsequent investigation, a group of four neo-Nazis had pushed him to the ground.
The assailants beat him and kicked him in the head while passers-by took no action and watched them. Nobody came to Dušan’s aid.
One attacker dealt the fatal blow to him with a gutter pipe. “Eyewitnesses said four people committed the murder; those charged were 17-year-old Milan Čujić and Ištvan Fendrik. Čujić told the court that he did not regret what he had done. Both were sentenced to 10 years in prison and served six. Their sentences were reduced. Two of the four perpetrators were never prosecuted,” the Center for Roma in Vojvodina has summarized the outcome.
The Center has also pointed out that the current socio-economic crisis in Serbia could easily lead to a strengthening of extremism and anti-Roma sentiment in general. “Today we commemorate the hate crime committed against 13-year-old Dušan Jovanović and the discrimination and racism that we fight against,” the organization said.
The boy’s mother was unable to cope with the death of her son and committed suicide in 2015. His father died shortly thereafter.
