New Slovenian law treats entire Romany minority 'as a security threat'

Source: The Guardian

New Slovenian law treats entire Romany minority ‘as a security threat’

Parliament approves law giving police powers to raid and surveil homes in what are demarcated as security risk areas

Daniel Boffey Chief reporter
Tue 18 Nov 2025 14.09 GMT
First published on Tue 18 Nov 2025 13.38 GMT

Slovenia’s government has been accused of turning Roma neighbourhoods into “security zones” after the passing of a law giving police powers to raid and surveil homes in so-called “high-risk” areas.

At midnight on Monday, the country’s parliament backed the “Šutar law”, named after Aleš Šutar, who was killed in an altercation with a 21-year-old Romany man after rushing to a nightclub after a distress call from his son.

The incident outside the LokalPatriot club in Novo Mesto, in south Slovenia, last month led to huge street protests, police being stationed in Roma neighbourhoods and the resignation of two ministers.

The prime minister, Robert Golob from the centre-left Freedom Movement party, responded by promising new security measures, which he described as being “not against any particular ethnic group but against crime itself”.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/18/slovenia-accused-of-turning-roma-neighbourhoods-into-security-zones