Hate speech is Considered a Crime in the Republic of Macedonia
Published in Topical
on 6 - 03 - 2014 Author: Филип СтојановскиIn February 2014, the Republic of Macedonia enacted new legal provisions prohibiting and punishing hate speech and dissemination of online materials that promote or incite hatred, discrimination or violence on any ground, against any person or group.
With the amendments to the Criminal Code that were immediately adopted by the Assembly in early 2014 and came into force in mid-February (eight days after being published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia, No. 27 from 05.02.2014) Article 319 now reads:
Inciting hatred, discord or intolerance on a national,
racial, religious or any other discriminatory ground(1) Any person using force, harassment, endangering safety, derision of national, ethnic, religious and other symbols, by burning, destroying or otherwise damaging the Macedonian flag or flags of other countries, damaging someone else’s items, desecrating monuments, tombs or in any other discriminatory manner, directly or indirectly, causes or incites hatred, discord or intolerance based on gender, race, skin color, descent, belonging to a marginalized group, ethnicity, language, nationality, social origin, religion or belief, other kinds of beliefs, education, political affiliation, personal or social status, mental or physical disability, age, familial or marital status, economic status, health condition, or based on any other grounds stipulated by law or with a ratified international agreement, shall be sentenced to 1 to 5 years in prison.
(2) A person who commits an act referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article by abusing position or authority, or if this person’s actions were the reason for riots and violence or large scale property damage, shall be sentenced to one to ten years in prison.
This article stipulates a one to five years prison sentence for anyone who instigates or incites hatred, discord or intolerance on a discriminatory basis.
After the amendments to the Criminal Code, Article 394 –g now reads:
Dissemination of racist and xenophobic material through a computer system
(1) A person who is using a computer system for spreading in public racist and xenophobic material, picture or another presentation of an idea or theory that helps, promotes or incites hatred, discrimination or violence against any person or group based on gender, race, skin color, descent, belonging to a marginalized group, ethnicity, language, nationality, social origin, religion or belief, other kinds of beliefs, education, political affiliation, personal or social status, mental or physical disability, age, familial or marital status, economic status, health condition, or based on any other grounds stipulated by law or with a ratified international agreement, shall be sentenced to 1 to 5 years in prison.
(2) The sentence referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall also apply to a person committing this act by using other means for informing the public.
(3) A person who commits an act referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article by abusing position or authority, or if this person’s actions were the reason for riots and violence or large scale property damage, shall be sentenced to one to ten years in prison.
The Assembly adopted these amendments using urgent procedure, without any prior consultation with all the stakeholders.
Source: nemrazi.mk „Говорот на омраза е кривично дело во Република Македонија“ March 18, 2014