Serbia / Commissioner for Protection of Equality / 07-00-280/2023-02
Country
Serbia
Year
Decision/ruling/judgment date
Incident(s) concerned/related
Related Bias motivation
Groups affected
Court/Body type
Court/Body
Key facts of the case
Main reasoning/argumentation
The Commissioner issued an opinion stating that by highlighting national affiliation in the headline: "Albanians poison our children – they sell juice that causes cancer" violated the provisions of Article 12 in conjunction with Article 24 of the Law on Antidiscrimination. The Commissioner points out that emphasizing national affiliation in the headline is entirely irrelevant and does not contribute in any way to a better understanding of the topic. Instead, it draws attention to Albanian national identity in a negative context and creates a hostile environment.
Is the case related to the application of the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia, the Racial Equality Directive?
Key issues (concepts, interpretations) clarified by the case
Key issues clarified in this case include the application of anti-discrimination law in media reporting and the interpretation of hate speech. The Commissioner emphasised that highlighting national identity in the media does not contribute in any way to a better understanding of the topic and that it constitutes discrimination by fostering a hostile environment.
Results (sanctions, outcome) and key consequences or implications of the case
The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality recommended Srpski Telegraf, along with its editor-in-chief and the responsible editor, to avoid publishing headlines or articles with discriminatory content that are intended to or lead to offending the dignity of individuals or groups based on their national affiliation or any other personal characteristic. This applies to all nationalities, including Albanian, and must be in accordance with the law. This interpretation could also be applied in cases of discrimination on the ground of any other personal characteristic, including religious beliefs.
Key quotation in original language and its unofficial translation into English with reference details
"Poverenik je preporučio Nezavisnim dnevnim novinama „BB“, kao i VV glavnom uredniku i GG, odgovornom uredniku ovog medija da ne objavljuju naslove, kao ni tekstove, odnosno diskriminatorne sadržaje koji imaju za cilj ili predstavljaju povredu dostojanstva lica ili grupe lica na osnovu nacionalne pripadnosti kao ličnog svojstva, kako albanske, tako i bilo koje druge nacionalne pripadnosti ili nekog drugog ličnog svojstva u skladu sa zakonom, a naročito ako se time stvara strah, zastrašujuće, neprijateljsko, degradirajuće, ponižavajuće i uvredljivo okruženje." "The Commissioner recommended to the daily newspaper BB, as well as VV, the editor-in-chief, and GG, the responsible editor of this media outlet, to refrain from publishing headlines or articles containing discriminatory content aimed at or resulting in violating the dignity of an individual or a group based on their national affiliation as a personal characteristic—Albanian or any other national affiliation or personal characteristic — in accordance with the law. This is particularly important when such content creates fear or a threatening, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment."