01 Jul Police failure to prevent attack by far-right movement during screening of homosexual films leads to violation of Convention

In the case of Association ACCEPT and Others v. Romania (application no. 19237/16, 01.06.2021) the European Court of Human Rights held that there had been a violation of Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) taken in conjunction with Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights in respect of the individual applicants, and a violation of Article 14 of the Convention, taken in conjunction with Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association).

The case concerned a demonstration that had occurred at a screening of a film involving a same-sex family during the applicant association’s LGBT History Month in February 2013. The other five applicants had attended the screening. Although the police had provided some protection, the cinema had been a by protestors, allegedly carrying far-right paraphernalia. Cinemagoers had been verbally abused. 

Complaints by the applicant association and the other applicants to prosecutors had not led to indictments. Following a court complaint, it had been adjudged that there had been no evidence to sustain beyond reasonable doubt that fascist symbols had been displayed in public. 

The Court found in particular that the police had failed to prevent the homophobic slurs and to ensure that the event could take place, despite adequate presence at the scene. The Court noted that the police had clear prima facie evidence of the protestors’ verbal abuse regarding sexual orientation, owing to the fact that they had been present. There had been an obligation on the authorities to investigate the matter – a potential hate crime. However, no significant investigative steps had been taken for a year after the complaint had been made, and the investigation had ended up lasting four years and eight months.

The Court concluded that the authorities had failed to offer adequate protection in respect of the individual applicants’ dignity (and more broadly, their private life), and to effectively investigate the real nature of the homophobic abuse directed against them. The authorities thus discriminated against the applicants on the grounds of their sexual orientation, leading to a violation of Article 14 taken in conjunction with Article 8. The Court concluded that the authorities had failed to ensure that the event in question in this case could take place, falling short of their obligations under Article 14 taken in conjunction with Article 11.

References from the official website of the European Court of Human Rights