In the procedure regarding the complaint of Initiative A 11, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality issued an opinion stating that by emphasizing the nationality of the suspects in the text published on January 25, 2021 on the Pink.rs website entitled “Pink on the spot! The place where the suspect boy (15) raped a girl (10). The horror of Ada Huja shook the whole Serbia” violated the provisions of Articles 12 and 24 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination.
As it is emphasized in the submitted complaint and confirmed in the opinion of the Commissioner regarding it, “the nationality of the suspects for this crime has nothing to do with the committed act, nor does the publication of this information contribute to a better understanding of events”. The opinion issued by the Commissioner adds that “by emphasizing national affiliation, in this case, attention is focused on national minorities, they are labeled as prone to committing crimes, which results in strengthening the stereotypes and discriminatory treatment of Roma”.
Namely, in the mentioned text in the description of the event, it is explicitly stated that “three members of the Roma nationality and one Roma woman attacked two underage girls from whom they took a phone and bluetooth speakers”.
The Commissioner recommended that „Pink International Company doo“, within its program possibilities and editorial policy, addresses the topic of protection and position of the Roma national minority, as well as not to publish content that violate the provisions of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination in future, and also to notify the Commissioner on the planned measures for the implementation of this recommendation within 30 days of receiving the opinion with the recommendation.
Nadja Marković, legal advisor of Initiative A 11, states that this opinion of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality is important because it indicates widespread discrimination in the media representation of Roma men and women, which is often a new trigger for hatred and intolerance towards this group of people. She added that it is important to react in each similar case in order to eradicate this practice through various procedures.