Bratislava (dpa) - A Slovakian court found rightist lawmaker Milan Mazurek guilty of racism and sentenced him to pay a fine, broadcaster TV TA3 reported Thursday.A member of the extreme right People‘s Party Our Slovakia and lawmaker since 2016, Mazurek branded the Roma minority as "asocial" and "parasites" who want to "suckle" the Slovakian welfare system.While the penalty for inciting racial hatred in Slovakia could have carried six years in prison and a revocation of his parliamentary post, he was fined 5,000 euros (5,900 dollars).Mazurek blasted the verdict as "absurd" and said it was a "politically motivated trial ... with a single goal, to discourage our fight for the rights of decent people."The prosecutors also voiced outrage at the mild penalty.Both sides can appeal the verdict.The Roma population in Slovakia is estimated at around 400,000, making it the second-largest minority in the EU country, after Hungarians.The Roma largely live in poverty and, according to Amnesty International and the European Roma Rights Centre, amid discrimination and various forms of segregation.
