Three Arrested For Killing Of Two Russian Roma

Foreign students in St. Petersburg carry a poster that reads "Putin, help, they're killing" at an April 11 rally following the murder of a Senegalese student (file photo) (epa) April 14, 2006 -- Police in Russia's Volgograd region have arrested three men suspected of participating in an attack on a Roma camp that left two people dead.

The three suspects, aged 18-20, are allegedly part of a gang of skinheads that attacked residents of the camp late on April 13, beating them with metal bars.


In addition to the two deaths, an elderly woman and a teenage girl were hospitalized with serious injuries.


Russia has seen a rise in racially motivated violence, with a series of recent attacks on immigrants and ethnic minorities.


(AFP, AP)

Epidemic Of Hate

Epidemic Of Hate

Yusuf Sultonov, whose 9-year-old daughter was beaten and stabbed to death in St. Petersburg on February 9, 2004 (TASS)

EXTREMISM ASCENDANT: More than half of Russians have xenophobic views, according to a report published in August 2005. In the report, rights groups say that -- despite progress in some areas -- racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism remain rife in Russia. But what worries watchdogs most are recent moves by nationalist-patriotic movements to form paramilitary groups....(more)


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