R.R. and R.D. v. Slovakia, No. 20649/18, ECtHR (Third Section), 1 September 2020

Prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment. Violent behavior by police officers driven by ethnic or racial bias. Prohibition of discrimination. Obligation to carry out effective investigations. Link between racist attitudes and acts of violence.

Art. 3 ECHR
Art. 14 ECHR

1. The violent behavior of police officers during a raid against the local Roma community constitutes inhuman and degrading treatment pursuant to Art. 3 of the ECHR (case in which the police broke into the homes of the applicants, who were beaten with batons and subsequently arrested for minor offences).

2. Racial violence is a particular affront to human dignity and, in view of its perilous consequences, requires from the authorities special vigilance and a vigorous reaction. It is for this reason that the authorities must use all available means to combat racism and racist violence, thereby reinforcing democracy’s vision of a society in which diversity is not perceived as a threat but as a source of enrichment. Therefore, in the event of a credible allegation about violent behavior by police officers, State authorities have the additional duty to take all reasonable steps to unmask any racist motive and to establish whether or not ethnic hatred or prejudice may have played a role in the events.
(Case in which the Strasbourg Court found that the racist motive and the repressive intent of the raid carried out by the police in the local Roma community were not proven, while acknowledging that the authorities had not fulfilled their obligation to carry out effective investigations into this point, thus violating their procedural obligations, arising from Article 14 taken in conjunction with Article 3 ECHR).