UIS Initiates Criminal Proceedings in Case of Police Attack on Children

Strane pod Tatrami/Presov, March 3 (TASR) - In the case of a media-reported physical assault by police officers on Roma children at a school in the village of Strane pod Tatrami (Presov region), the Internal Affairs Inspectorate (UIS) has initiated criminal proceedings for the crime of abuse of power by a public official, TASR has learnt from Michal Sovic, the Regional Prosecutor's Office spokesperson in Presov. "Concerning the media-reported case of the physical assault by police officers on pupils at Strane pod Tatrami Primary School, an investigator from the Internal Affairs Inspectorate in Kosice initiated criminal proceedings on Monday for the crime of abuse of power by a public official," said the spokesperson. The prosecutor from the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Presov will oversee the investigation. The case was brought to the attention of MP Peter Pollak ('Slovakia'-For the People-KU) via a video on a social network last week. Children aged 11-13 claimed in the video that they had their faces slapped by an officer, with one of the children even receiving a kick in the leg. lin/df