Greece / First Instance Court of Thessaloniki
Country
Greece
Year
Decision/ruling/judgment date
Incident(s) concerned/related
Related Bias motivation
Groups affected
Court/Body type
Court/Body
Key facts of the case
In April 2013, a public bus driver in Thessaloniki was accused of discrimination. He stopped the bus and ordered two African passengers to get off the bus, claiming that they were not holding valid tickets. According to witnesses the actual motive was related to the racial origin of the two passengers, since, after they got off, the driver screamed that he was "chrysafgitis", i.e. a fan of the Golden Dawn, and showed a medallion with the symbol of the “Golden Dawn” party in an effort to frighten other passengers who reacted to his behaviour.
Main reasoning/argumentation
The Court found the driver guilty of denial of access to services for racist motives, quoting Article 16 “Implementation of the principle of equal treatment regardless of ethnic or racial origin, religious or other belief, disability, age, sexual orientation”.
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
Results (sanctions, outcome) and key consequences or implications of the case
The driver was sentenced to ten months of imprisonment, suspended for three years, and given a fine of 1,000 euros.
Key quotation in original language and its unofficial translation into English with reference details
The decision is not available on line in competent Court web-site or in any other legal data base.