In the case of Dordevic v. Croatia, the European Court of Human Rights found that the Croatian authorities had breached the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to address and put an end to disability hate crimes being perpetrated against two individuals. The case concerned two Croatian nationals of Serbian ethnicity living in Zagreb. The pair, a mother and son, had faced ongoing abuse and harassment by a group of youths over a period of many years. Such abuse was prompted by factors including the son’s disability and their marginal social status. The actions of the youths had been reported to numerous government authorities including the police on a number of occasions, but the police failed to stop the harassment. Radmila and Dalibor Dordevic therefore brought a case to the ECtHR. Human rights organisation Interights acted as advisors to counsel in the case.
The court found that there had been a violation of Article 3 (prohibition on inhuman and degrading treatment), Article 8 (right to private and family life) and Article 12 (right to an effective remedy). The court held that the violation of Article 3 stemmed from the State’s failure to address the acts of violence and harassment that had occurred and prevent further abuse from taking place. In finding a breach of Article 8 the court acknowledged the impact of disability hate crime on the families of the primary victim. The court also found a violation of Article 13 as there were no remedies available in Croatia for complaints of disability hate crime perpetrated by minors.
A report by Interights states that this is the first disability hate crime case decided by the court. Click here to read the Interights report.