Bratislava police officers and SBS were supposed to beat a homeless man to death for theft. NGOs, the police president and the inspectorate react

Police are investigating the death of a man who was found on Thursday (30 January) outside the Gold Barber Shop - Twin City on Mlynské Nivy in Bratislava with serious head and body injuries.

The victim died on Friday after being hospitalised at the Ružinov Hospital. He was subsequently identified as a Ukrainian homeless man. The information was provided to ta3 television by a reliable source.

In the morning, ta3 television reported that the file was to be examined by the Office of the Inspection Service. This information was not true at the time. After additional verification of the data, it was found that the Inspection Service would look into the case, but did not yet have the file and was awaiting a meeting. The editors of ta3 apologise for the misinformation.

Caught stealing, taken to a room

According to the findings so far, it is suspected that the homeless man was assaulted by private security service (SBS) officers and a police patrol from Ružinov before he was found in the Nivy shopping centre premises.

The incident was said to have occurred after a man was caught shoplifting at a New Yorker clothing store. A paramedic who treated the man reported suspicions that he may have been assaulted by armed riot police.

However, based on the tracking of security cameras and verified information, it was to be determined that he had apparently just been beaten by the SBS and police officers in a room behind the store.

Inspection took over the case

The Office of Inspection Services said on Monday afternoon that it was not yet possible to rule out wrongdoing by police officers in the case, so it had taken over the investigation of the case.

"Proceedings are being conducted in the case for the offence of manslaughter. Procedural actions are ongoing at these moments, and therefore it is not possible to provide any further information," spokeswoman Andrea Dobiášová said.

Maškarová: We are working with several versions

During Monday's meeting of the Slovak National Council's Committee on Human Rights and National Minorities, Police President-in-Charge Jana Maškarová confirmed that police are working with several versions of the death.

According to Lucia Kurilovská, state secretary of the Interior Ministry, it is not yet possible to say whether it was police brutality.

"In this case, there will be a thorough check to see if all those officers, if they are suspects, did their job," Maškarová said.

Bratislava regional police responded that "in order not to frustrate the ongoing investigation or jeopardise it, any further information cannot be provided on the case at this stage".

Reaction of the Ukrainian Minister and Embassy

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha also commented on the case on social media. According to him, the Ukrainian embassy has already established contact with the Slovak police and the ombudsman.

In its official statement, the Embassy of Ukraine said that "the Ukrainian side does not exclude that this crime may have been committed on the basis of the victim's ethnic group in the context of unjustified incitement of anti-Ukrainian sentiments in Slovak society."

It considers the incident to be a violation of fundamental human rights and the rule of law and called on the competent authorities to conduct an impartial and prompt investigation into the circumstances of the case.

Violence is never the solution, NGOs say

The non-profit organisations Depaul Slovensko and Vagus have also commented on the incident.

In a statement, Depaul Slovakia expressed sadness and outrage at the tragedy in Bratislava regarding the physical attack on a homeless man who died in hospital as a result of the assault.

"Violence is never the solution. We must not, as a society, condone or tolerate it. We ask the relevant authorities to investigate the tragedy and hold us accountable. Please let us be more sensitive in our behaviour and communication about homeless people. They are human beings just the same. Sadly, many face stigmatisation, dehumanisation and prejudice on a daily basis," the statement read.

Vagus has expressed immense sadness and claims that the brutality of the SBS service at the Nivy Shopping Centre is a recurring problem. "We encounter it through independent personal testimonies of people we work with in the day centre, in the field and in the integration programme. According to their words, there are attacks on homeless people in the shopping centre who seek refuge in the premises. The attacks are always supposed to happen in a place away from cameras and without witnesses," the NGO said on its social network.

Based on the testimonies Vagus received from male and female clients, it initiated a meeting with the mall as early as February 2024. They demanded an investigation and rectification of the unacceptable and unlawful practices of the security guards.

"The response of the mall management was to downplay the situation and delay real solutions. We have also informed the city about the situation," Vagus reports.

Invisible to society, visible to violence

The human rights organisation Amnesty International Slovakia has also commented on the case, expressing sadness over the death of a homeless person.

"The competent authorities must immediately, thoroughly and impartially investigate all the circumstances of the case and the causes of the homeless man's death. Until the results of the investigation become clear or further information about the case is made public, it is imperative to stress that it is absolutely unacceptable under any circumstances for homeless people to face stigmatisation, dehumanisation and violence," said Rado Sloboda, Director of Amnesty International Slovakia.

Opinion of the Police Presidium

The Police Presidium said that the circumstances of the death of the man found near the Nivy bus station in Bratislava are under investigation.

Police from the Bratislava I District Police Headquarters have encountered several ambiguities in the procedure, which will be further investigated.

The president of the Police Force Jana Maškarová has ordered an immediate review of the procedure of the police officers at the Bratislava II District Directorate. Due to the ongoing investigation by the Inspection Service Office, no further information is available on the case at this time. The results of the inspection will be made public after its completion.

A similar tragedy occurred in November 2024 in Košice, when a homeless man stole alcohol from a convenience store. One of the police officers called in then beat the homeless man on duty in the shop premises. The victim of police brutality suffered numerous injuries, including swelling of the brain, to which he succumbed in hospital the next day.

See the November 3, 2024 report on how police brutality is not news.