No. 07-00-652/2025-02   Date: 10.11.2025.

OPINION

The opinion was issued in proceedings based on a complaint filed by A.A. against media portal B.B., due to discrimination on the grounds of national affiliation. In the complaint, he stated, among other things, that on 11 August 2025 a video clip by V.V. was published on B.B.’s Facebook account, in which waste, filth, and dirt were compared to a “Gypsy neighborhood.” In the response of the editor-in-chief of B.B., it was stated that in the disputed video clip he used the term “Gypsy neighborhood” because Roma settlements in Niš resemble what he saw in front of the building of the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund and the Republic Health Insurance Fund, and that he used that word in an unfortunate manner, as well as that the complaint was completely unfounded because he did not discriminate against the Roma community, since the fact remains that their settlements “look bad, but they choose this themselves and do it themselves, just as all citizens arrange their own living space.” Based on the established factual situation, it is undisputed that in the video clip published on B.B.’s Facebook page, the editor-in-chief of portal B.B. recorded the building of the Republic Health Insurance Fund and the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund in Niš, that is, recorded various packages of food and chemical products arranged along the wall of the building and, among other things, stated: “…here you have a small clearance sale, people, come to the Gypsy neighborhood, center of the city of Niš, thanks to them for existing.” By reviewing the screenshots submitted with the complaint, it was established that B.B. published on its Facebook account: “If you say ‘Gypsy neighborhood,’ Roma (Gypsies) immediately come forward to show you their true face, and then NGO A.A. also appears, which for years has lived well off the topic of ‘Roma rights,’ to explain to you that no one is allowed to utter the words ‘Gypsy neighborhood,’ because you are immediately a Nazi. As a minority you have come far, only to pride and emptiness…No one insults you, you do that yourselves in all examples.” In the proceedings, it was established that the video clip which is the subject of the complaint was published on B.B.’s Facebook profile, which has 147,000 followers, and that the video clip has 116,000 views and a significant number of reactions. By reviewing numerous comments on the post, the Commissioner established that the disputed statement caused a feeling of disturbance among members of the Roma national minority. The Commissioner issued an opinion that portal B.B., through this publication, violated the provisions of Article 12, paragraph 1, in conjunction with Article 24 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination. The editor-in-chief of this portal was recommended to remove from the portal’s Facebook page the video clip that was the subject of this complaint titled “Clearance Sale in Front of the PIO and RFZO Building, Let’s Go, Favela in the City Center,” and in the future not to publish discriminatory content aimed at or representing a violation of the dignity of persons or groups of persons on the grounds of national affiliation or ethnic origin as a personal characteristic or any other personal characteristic prescribed by law as a basis for discrimination.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY

Brankica Janković