Budapest, Hungary (AHN) – Amnesty International has blasted Hungary for failing to protect the country’s largest Roma population from violence.

Identifying shortcomings and gaps in country’s criminal justice system, the human rights group said that police surprisingly failed to record some of the attacks happened between 2008 and 2009 – a charge Budapest denies.

Hungary’s Justice Ministry said that all citizens, regardless of their ethnicity, were protected by the law. It assured that the ministry would carefully study the Amnesty’s allegations as well as recommendations.

In its report, Amnesty talked about several attacks on Roma settlements, which lasted more than a year.

Until August 2009, at lease six people killed in such attacks. Police launched a massive operation and arrested four men, who would be sent to trial soon on murder charges.

Amnesty’s Europe and Central Asia program’s Nicola Duckworth said that the Hungarian authorities have a duty to prevent discrimination and to ensure justice for victims of hate crimes.

“This includes the obligation to investigate whether or not racial and ethnic hatred or prejudice played a role in these and any similar attacks,” Duckworth added.

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