NAKA investigating incident of alleged segregation of Roma girl at church

Slovakia's National Crime Agency (NAKA) has begun investigating a recent case in Trnava involving a group of parents who allegedly attempted to prevent a Roma girl from sitting next to their children during a first-communion ceremony at Saint Nicholas' Basilica, the police said on Monday. TASR reported on Saturday that in the run-up to the ceremony some parents expressed displeasure that the Roma girl would be allowed to sit among their children, and they even suggested her parents should organise a separate ceremony. The situation was eventually resolved by producing a seating plan that made the Roma girl sit alone. Parents of the other children, speaking to Novy Cas daily, denied racial motivation, saying that they were upset to see the Roma girl applying for the ceremony late and without undergoing proper preparation, while her parents had not contributed financially or in any other way towards organising the ceremony, either.