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Swedish police keep a database of 4,000 Roma, including children
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/23/us-sweden-roma-idUSBRE98M0EM20130923(Reuters) - Swedish police have established a database of Roma, the force said on Monday, confirming a newspaper report that a government minister condemned as "unethical, unacceptable and illegal".
Daily Dagens Nyheter said the file was in the form of a genealogical tree covering 4,029 Roma, many of who had no criminal record and more than 1,000 are children.
Gathering directories based on ethnicity is illegal in Sweden, part of privacy rights that have for decades been enshrined in Swedish law. Police said they were seeking prosecutors' advice on the handling of the issue.
It is the latest incident to tarnish Sweden's reputation for tolerance to ethnic minorities and comes during a year in which Stockholm was hit by widespread riots by poor immigrants in May and an anti-immigrant party has risen in the polls.
SNIP
