E/CN.4/2004/18 page 15 40. Athanasios Sainis was arrested because a quantity of drugs was found in his possession which - as he readily confessed - he bought for his personal use from a person whom he explicitly named, and who was arrested. No psychological or physical violence was exercised against him by policemen, since such acts would have been recognized by the judiciary official who participated in the police action to observe its legality. 41. The accusations pending are characterized by exaggeration and, through intimidation, they aim at relaxation of police measures taken in the above-mentioned area for the prevention and suppression of crimes relating to drug use and trafficking. It should be noted that because the Roma’s practice of defaming policemen is usual - with the obvious aim of the weakening of police control in similar police operations, judiciary officials always participate in order to provide maximum guarantees for the observation of legality. 3. Observations by the Special Rapporteur 42. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Greece for the information it has supplied. He trusts that the activities of the Greek police will continue to be guided by the observance of legality and fundamental human rights principles, in particular respect for the physical integrity of persons and equality before the law. The Special Rapporteur proposes to monitor the question of racism and discrimination in Greece with particular attention in the light of recent press articles alleging growing racism in the country. E. Slovakia 1. Joint allegation transmitted on 22 August 2003 with the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture 43. In this communication, the Special Rapporteurs would like to bring to the Government’s attention allegations we have recently received according to which the police conducted an operation in the isolated Roma settlement in Plaveckỷ ètvrtok on 19 September 2000. It is reported that, in the course of the operation, about 20 officers of the Rapid Response Unit and six members of the Slovak Police Force, said to be wearing masks, violently entered the houses and allegedly beat and kicked indiscriminately the inhabitants, including women and children. The public forces are believed to have shouted racist insults. It is believed that the law enforcement agents were looking for a man who had been sentenced to one year’s imprisonment in April 2000 and two other Roma who had reportedly obstructed the police in their attempts to arrest him four days earlier. 2. Response of the Government of Slovakia 44. No response has yet been received from the Government of Slovakia.