On the evening of 9 March 2024, a large group of people targeted two LGBTQ+ people in Aristotelous Square, in the centre of Thessaloniki. According to press reports, a group of young people who were in the square began to insult two members of the LGBTQ+ community who were passing by and some of them threw bottles at them whilst others spat on them.
One of the victims alleged that a girl tried to stop them, but they pushed her too. The victims tried to run away but their attackers managed to reach them and one victim was hit on the head, fortunately not seriously.
The Hellenic Police subsequently arrested 21 people, against whom the prosecutor brought criminal charges for insult with racist characteristics. A few days later, another person, 32 years old, was arrested and prosecuted for insult with racist characteristics, for a new attack against one of the victims who was also the victim of the first attack.
In a lengthy statement, the Racist Violence Recording Network condemned the attack, “The recent incident during which two individuals appear to have been targeted, with verbal and physical violence, because of their gender expression/identity/characteristics illustrates a pattern that the Network has documented over time: victims moving in public space are subjected to unprovoked violence because of their specific identity characteristics,” the statement noted, adding: “The Network welcomes that the authorities are investigating if there is a racist motive behind the incident under article 82A of the Criminal Code and urges that a prompt, thorough and transparent investigation is conducted”.
Article 82A of the Criminal Code provides that if a crime has been motivated by specific identity characteristics such as race, colour, national or ethnic origin, genealogical background, religion, disability, sexual orientation, identity or gender characteristics, the scope of punishment shall be as follows:
a) In the case of a misdemeanour punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, the minimum sentence shall be increased by six months. In other cases of misdemeanours, the minimum sentence shall be increased by one year. b) In the case of a felony, the minimum sentence shall be increased by two years.
According to Article 361 of the Criminal Code for the crime of insult, on the basis of which the alleged perpetrators were prosecuted, establishes a penalty of imprisonment for up to one year, or a fine. The fine may also be imposed together with the penalty of imprisonment.
Article 333 of the Criminal Code provides that causing terror or alarm to another person by threatening him with violence or other unlawful acts, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or a fine.
In its statement, the Racist Violence Incident Recording Network points out the absence of an effective national mechanism for the support and protection of victims of racist crimes, despite the relevant provisions of the institutional framework and, more specifically, of Law No. 4478/2017 (Government Gazette A’ 91/23.6.2017), which provides for the establishment of minimum standards regarding the rights, support and protection of victims of crime.
According to Article 54 (1) of Law 4478/2017 (which incorporates Article 1 of Directive 2012/29/EU), the purpose of the law is to ensure that victims of crime receive appropriate information, support and protection in order to participate in the criminal procedure. Victims should be identified and treated with a respectful, sensitive, personalised, professional and non-discriminatory approach regardless of their race, colour, nationality, ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, social origin, political or other opinion, property status, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or characteristics, disability or any other status thereof, in all contacts with the relevant victim support services. The rights established in this Act apply to all victims without discrimination, irrespective of their nationality or citizenship and their residence status.
To this end, this law provides for a number of rights for victims of crime, including, inter alia, their right to understand and be understood in the criminal proceedings (Article 56), their right to receive information on the support they may receive and on the body providing it for their medical treatment, psychological support and the provision of protection measures, legal aid and compensation (Article 57), their right to lodge a complaint and receive a copy of it (Article 58), their right to receive information about their case (Article 59), their right to interpretation and translation (Article 60), their right to access victim support and care services (Article 61), and their right to support from victim support services (Article 62).
However, despite EU and now national legislation, the Greek government has not established a national mechanism to support and protect victims of racist crimes, which, the Rcist Violence Recording Network points out, “exposes the victims to the risk of experiencing the trauma of the secondary victimization and/or re-victimization…at a time of intense hate speech against LGBTQI+ people in the context of the debate and recent adoption of the law legalizing same-sex marriage. This is expressed in the public discourse both by senior politicians and members of the Parliament, as well as by media and representatives of the Church in the country. The intensification of this rhetoric, as the Network has pointed out in the past, normalizes, encourages and ultimately escalates racist reactions, sometimes even resulting in (mass) attacks on the street against members of the targeted communities.”
The protection of LGBTQ+ persons and citizens in general from racially motivated crimes is based, inter alia, on Article 4 of the Constitution (Equality of Greeks), as well as Article 5 of the Constitution (Free development of personality, personal freedom), according to which everyone has the right to freely develop his personality and to participate in the social, economic and political life of the country, provided that he does not infringe the rights of others and does not violate the Constitution or morality…all persons in the Greek territory enjoy the absolute protection of their life, honour and freedom, without distinction as to nationality, race, language and religious or political beliefs.
Based on the Greek Constitution and the aforementioned national and EU legislation, LGBTQ+ people and citizens in general should be protected from verbal and physical attacks against them which are motivated by their identity or gender. Furthermore, all victims of crime should have equal, effective and non-discriminatory access to their rights and should be treated with respect, sensitivity, professional and non-discriminatory treatment regardless of their race, colour, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, social origin, political or other opinion, property, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender characteristics, disability or any other status.
However, in the case in question, two LGBTQ+ persons were verbally and physically assaulted based on their specific identity characteristics, while according to the Racist Violence Incident Recording Network, Greece has not developed a national mechanism to support and protect victims of crimes motivated by their identity characteristics.
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