Bias Motive |
Groups |
Key facts | |||||
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Finland | District Court of Helsinki (Helsingin käräjäoikeus / Helsingfors tingsrätt) | 2019 |
Finland / District Court of Helsinki / 19/140548, R18/710 A copy of the decision can be requested from the registry of the District Court of Helsinki |
Religion | Muslims | The city housing production office had decided to employ A. According to the regulations of the housing production office, the CEO decides on hiring new employees. When A’s employment contract was to be signed, the CEO was on leave. She had authorised the project manager to sign the employment contract. A HR specialist was also present. A then told that he was a Muslim and would like to take an (unpaid) prayer break each day, one hour on Fridays and five minutes during other days. This had not… | View more |
Greece | Greek Council of State | 2019 | Greece / Council of State/Decisions Nos. 1759-1760/2019 of the Plenary | Religion | Other religious groups | Through Decisions nos. 1759-1760 / 2019 the Plenary of the Council of State repealed Nos. 92091 / D2 / 5.6.2018 (B '2087) and 92094 / D2 / 5.6.2018 (B' 2089) Decisions of the Minister of Education, insofar as they provided for students' religion to be included on high school diplomas, transcripts and certificates. The mandatory or optional inclusion of religion in the documents was considered to constitute a violation of Article 13 of the Hellenic Constitution (religious freedom… | View more |
Greece | Ombudsman | 2019 | Greece / Greek Ombudsman/case 264690 | Religion | Muslims | The head of a nursing unit at a public hospital refused to permit a student of the Muslim faith to carry out her internship at the hospital while wearing a veil. The Ombudsman requested that the hospital’s administration set out a specific and full justification, in compliance with the relevant provisions of Law 4443/2016 on the grounds for that decision. The hospital cited this was done on the grounds of public health, since the student’s practical exercise would be carried out in the internal… | View more |
Finland | Helsinki Court of Appeal (Helsingin hovioikeus/Helsingfors hovrätt) | 2019 |
Finland / Helsinki Court of Appeal / 19/147289, R19/1258 A copy of the decision can be requested from the registry of the Helsinki Court of Appeal. |
Race/Ethnicity, Religion | Muslims | The defendant (A) had quoted on his Twitter account statements which the Supreme Court had found defamatory in a case where a Finnish MP had been convicted of incitement to hatred and breach of the sanctity of religion (KKO:2012:58). The MP had described Islam as “a paedophile religion” and had held that “theft and leading a parasitic life by living off welfare is a national and maybe even genetic characteristic of Somalis”. The defendant A claimed that by quoting the statements on Twitter he… | View more |
Finland | Helsinki Court of Appeal (Helsingin hovioikeus/Helsingfors hovrätt) | 2019 |
Finland / Helsinki Court of Appeal / 19/141114, R18/2249 A copy of the decision can be requested from the registry of the Helsinki Court of Appeal. |
Migrant status, Religion | Muslims | The defendant (A) had posted several comments in various anti-immigrant, open Facebook groups. He used pejorative language when referring to migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and Muslims and, for example, accused migrants of mass rape and assault. The defendant claimed he was politically active and had wanted to take part in public debate on migration. The court found that the comments were threatening, defaming and insulting and constituted incitement to hatred. | View more |
Finland | District Court of Oulu (Oulun käräjäoikeus/Uleåborgs tingsrätt) | 2019 |
Finland / District Court of Oulu / 19/143966, R19/1104 A copy of the decision can be requested from the registry of the District Court of Oulu. |
Race/Ethnicity, Religion | Muslims | The defendant, Mr Tynkkynen, was leader of the Finns Party Youth and member of the city council. He had posted on his Facebook page an article with the title “Terrorism does not know religion. Except for Islam”. Tynkkynen wrote, for example, that to say that there is no link between terrorism and Islam is just an “empty claim”, and that Islam was “responsible for continuous killings around the world”. Attached to the text were photos of men, who were allegedly responsible for various terrorist… | View more |
Finland | Rovaniemi Court of Appeal (Rovaniemen hovioikeus / Rovaniemi hovrätt) | 2019 |
Finland / Rovaniemi Court of Appeal / 19/150674, R18/856 A copy of the decision can be requested from the registry of the Rovaniemi Court of Appeal |
Religion | Muslims | The defendant was a Sunni Muslim from Iraq and had applied for asylum in Finland. He had uploaded on his open Facebook page 11 videos as well as pictures depicting violent acts or brutal violence allegedly committed by Shia Muslims against Sunni Muslims. He had also written on his Facebook wall, in Arabic, that Shia Muslims were murderers and Iran’s henchmen and should be cursed and removed from Iraq. The defendant claimed he had wanted to comment on the crimes against humanity committed in his… | View more |
France | Court of Cassation (Cour de cassation) | 2019 | France / Cour de cassation/18-85299/ECLI:FR:CCASS:2019:CR01530 | Religion | Muslims | During the programme "C à vous" (Over to you) broadcast on the France 5 television channel on 6 September 2016, during which he gave an interview, Mr H. made the following remarks at four different points during the conversation with a journalist: first passage, the answer "No" to the question whether "there are Muslims in France who live in peace, who do not interpret the texts of the Koran to the letter, who are totally integrated"; second passage, "the… | View more |
France | Public Defender of Rights | 2019 | France / Public Defender of rights/n°2019-201 | Religion | Muslims | Ms. X was authorised to occupy a stand at the Christmas market which was held from 30 November to 9 December 2018 in the municipality of Z. However, at the end of the day on 30 November, the mayor of municipality Z ordered Ms X to leave her stand on the grounds that she was wearing a veil. The mayor of the municipality rejected Ms. X's appeal, drawing her attention to the need for those involved in the organisation of a municipal event to respect the principles of secularism and neutrality. | View more |
France | Public Defender of Rights | 2019 | France / Public Defender of rights/n°2019-119 | Religion | Muslims | The Public Defender of Rights was referred to by a contracted teaching assistant who worked at a high school and who contested the alleged breach of the duty of neutrality used to justify the disciplinary proceedings against him. The disciplinary procedure was based on the following: refusing to greet or say farewell to female colleagues with a kiss on the cheek, speaking Arabic to pupils, praying on the school premises. | View more |
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