Minister hails "victory against hate speech"

Deputy Culture Minister Dusan Janjic has hailed a court ruling on an article published by daily Glas Javnosti as an important precedent in tackling hate speech. The case revolved around an article published in the daily on March 16, 2006 entitled “Boycott“. Minister hails "victory against hate speech" The article called for a boycott of the Croatian retail chain IDEA and featured an advert signed by “Persecuted Serbs“, stating that “the Croatian boot walks unhindered on Serbian soil, buying up companies and opening shops,“ adding that every purchase there was “giving money to those who killed us and banished us from our homes.“ Janjic told B92 that the main instrument for tackling hate speech was public pressure. “I think that when it comes to the media, we don’t have many hate speak cases because, quite simply, people steer clear of it as it’s a big hassle for them, a pain, you might say, without any clear hopes of success. And it’s precisely therein that lies the importance of this verdict,” said the deputy minister. “You create an atmosphere against hate speak by not using that kind of talk in parliament, by politicians and others from the social elite not using it when speaking in public, and, of course, by not using it in the media,” he said. Yesterday the Belgrade District Court ruled that the article constituted hate speak, said Court spokeswoman Vesna Sekulic. The ruling is the first of its kind in Serbian legal history. The ruling outlawed the publication of this or any other kind of similar texts propagating discrimination or inciting hatred. Glas Editor-in-Chief Ivan Corbic was ordered to pay court costs, while the paper’s owner Radisav Rodic was cleared. Dusan Janjic (FoNet, archive)

Minister hails "victory against hate speech"

The article called for a boycott of the Croatian retail chain IDEA and featured an advert signed by “Persecuted Serbs“, stating that “the Croatian boot walks unhindered on Serbian soil, buying up companies and opening shops,“ adding that every purchase there was “giving money to those who killed us and banished us from our homes.“

Janjić told B92 that the main instrument for tackling hate speech was public pressure.

“I think that when it comes to the media, we don’t have many hate speak cases because, quite simply, people steer clear of it as it’s a big hassle for them, a pain, you might say, without any clear hopes of success. And it’s precisely therein that lies the importance of this verdict,” said the deputy minister.

“You create an atmosphere against hate speak by not using that kind of talk in parliament, by politicians and others from the social elite not using it when speaking in public, and, of course, by not using it in the media,” he said.

Yesterday the Belgrade District Court ruled that the article constituted hate speak, said Court spokeswoman Vesna Sekulić.

The ruling is the first of its kind in Serbian legal history. The ruling outlawed the publication of this or any other kind of similar texts propagating discrimination or inciting hatred.

Glas Editor-in-Chief Ivan Čorbić was ordered to pay court costs, while the paper’s owner Radisav Rodić was cleared.