Mario Bango is a 21 year old Roma from Slovakia. He has been in prison since March 2001 for the "crime" of defending his younger brother when they were brutally attacked by a neo-nazi skinhead. Mario has been sentenced to 12 years without parole for attempted murder. Next month supporters of the campaign to release Mario are calling for 12 days of action to highlight the injustice of this case (details below). In the following interview, Mario speaks out about his "crime" and politically-motivated punishment.
Interview with Mario Bango conducted by the League for the Fifth International.
Q: What were you charged with?
Three years ago, my brother was attacked by the notorious skinhead Branislav Slamka. When I tried to help my brother, a struggle began. The neo-nazi fell on the ground and got a serious head injury. I immediately called the police and an ambulance. Then I was arrested on the spot. Several weeks later Slamka died from a medical error: the doctors had overlooked a blood clot in his brain. I was kept in prison until the trial began.
Q: How did your trial proceed?
The judgement is clearly politically motivated. The judge made no secret of his prejudice against me. It was characteristic of the whole trial that the relatives of Slamka were represented by Robert Fico, chairman of the racist and right-populist party SMER. The sentence - 12 years imprisonment - is absurd. I defended my brother against an attack.
Q What are the conditions like in prison?
It is not exactly easy. In the beginning, prison guards who sympathise with the neo-nazis threatened to make my life a living hell. That changed as a result of pressure from the international solidarity campaign. Since then I have been left alone. The worst part is that I can only see visitors for less than one hour per month and only receive one package every three months.
Q: Do you manage to get news about the international solidarity campaign?
From letters, my lawyer, and the few visits I receive, I am partially informed. The support of hundreds of organisations from around the world motivates me greatly. The fact that Slovakian President Rudolf Schuster had to answer the protest letters addressed to him shows the strength of the international pressure. In Slovakia, unfortunately, the situation is different. In the media there was a smear campaign against my brother and me: we were thieves, who the "upstanding citizen" - i.e. the neo-nazi - was trying to stop from pick-pocketing. That is the typical way Roma are portrayed in the media. Characteristic of the racist climate is the fact that the Slovakian parliament, on the motion of an MP from the conservative-nationalist HZDS, held a minute of silence for the dead neo-nazi.
Q: Are Roma often the victims of attacks?
My brother was attacked once before by neo-nazis and had to spend two weeks in the hospital. Roma are basically fair game. Just two examples: 51-year-old Koral Sendrej was beaten to death at a police station and a young man Milan Daniel was killed by three skinheads with baseball bats. When asked why they had murdered him, the skinheads replied "because he was a Roma"!
Write to Mario:
Mário Bango, nar. 8. 6. 1982
Ústav na vy´kon väzby
priecinok 1077
Chorvatská 5
812 29 Bratislava
Slovensko/Slovakia
Contact the Campaign:
http://www.worldrevolution.org.uk/pages/campaigns/freemario.html
http://www.fifthinternational.org/LFIfiles/Mario-index.html
On 1 May Slovakia will become a part of the European Union. We can use this opportunity to highlight Mario's case and his denial of a fair trial, which contravenes human rights. We are asking all supporters of the FREE MARIO BANGO CAMPAIGN to organise actions in countries across the world on the 12 days following their entry to the EU.
12 DAYS OF PROTEST FOR MARIO BANGO
Day 1: MAY DAY: Day of National Action for Mario
Day 2: Hold a meeting explaining Mario's case
Day 3: Press day - send press releases to every paper
Day 4: Day of postering
Day 5: Send postcards of protest to the Slovakian authorities
Day 6: Day of graffiti
Day 7: Day of petitioning for Mario's release (at work/school)
Day 8: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF LOCAL ACTION
Day 9: Day of fundraising for Mario
Day 10: Day of stickering
Day 11: Day of letter-writing to Mario
Day 12: Hand in petitions to embassies/government offices
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