Serbia / Press Council/102
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
Belgrade Centre for Human Rights filed a complaint against the "Srbija danas" portal due to discriminatory comments made by readers below the article on the social network Facebook. Comments below the article "SHOCKING VIDEO RELEASED: He crashed his car into a migrant camp in Obrenovac, then went to the Serbian Army (VIDEO)" published on May 6, 2020, on the Facebook page of the portal "Srbija danas" were discriminatory and expressed hate speech directed at migrants. * A large number of migrants in Serbia are Muslims or they are coming from states with a majority Muslim population. About statistics of a number of asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants you can find in this report: Petrović, Lena (2020), “Right to Asylum in the Republic of Serbia 2019”, Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, pp. 13-15. This report is available in English on: http://azil.rs/en/right-to-asylum-in-the-republic-of-serbia-2019/
Main reasoning/argumentation
The portal "Srbija danas" violated point 1 of Section IV (Responsibility of journalists) of the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics, on the obligation of journalists to oppose anyone who violates human rights or advocates any kind of discrimination, hate speech and incitement to violence. The portal also violated point 4 of Section V (Journalistic due attention) according to which a journalist must be aware of the danger of discrimination that can be spread by the media and should do everything to avoid discrimination based, among other things, on race, gender, age, sexual orientation, language, religion, political and other opinion, national or social origin.
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
From the rationale of the decision:
"As for the content of the comments, the Commission decided that they are undoubtedly discriminatory in relation to migrants, insulting to them, as well as calling for violence, either directly or through expressing support for a person who broke into the Reception Centre with a vehicle. Regardless of the fact that the text itself is not disputable, the editorial board had to take care that such comments undoubtedly encourage further spread of prejudice and hatred towards migrants, and that their removal in this case is not a restriction of freedom of speech, but an obligation of the editorial board to oppose those who violate human rights and advocate for discrimination, hatred and incitement to violence. "
Results (sanctions, outcome) and key consequences or implications of the case
The Press Council ordered the portal "Srbija danas" to publish the decision within five days from the date of delivery of the decision, and the decision of the Commission was published on the website of the Press Council (www.savetzastampu.rs) and is available to the public.