Published: 22 February 2012
Country: Serbia
by MDI
The Serbian Gay Straight Alliance, a group campaigning against discrimination, has struck a blow against homophobia in the country with a major victory in a case before the Serbian Appeal Court.
In a crucial finding, the court has said that the insulting anti-gay material published in the online readers’ forum of Press, a daily newspaper, is not protected by free expression rights and is illegal.
The content in question was outrageously offensive say campaigners and it remained online for 11 days before it was finally moved. The editorial board of the Newspaper said it was not responsible for the comments of readers, even though they edit the pages and allow the material to be published.
The Gay Straight Alliance, which is one of the most prominent Serbian NGOs campaigning for gay and lesbian rights, took the case to court because of the damage this material was causing. They argued that it was stoking up homophobia and was threatening to gay and lesbian people in the country.
The verdict of the Appeal Court is an important step in the fight against homophobia and is a strong warning to media that they cannot abandon their responsibility to respect editorial standards the rights of citizens, particularly when moderating the intemperate comments of their readers.
The use of the readers’ forum, blog or comment sections of media online services must also meet the ethical and professional standards that journalists themselves practice. When that fails to happen, as this case demonstrates, media can find themselves being manipulated and used by people who want to incite hatred and end up on the wrong side of the law.
