Romania Told to Compensate LGBT Group for Homophobic Attack

Members of the far-right group Noua Dreapta (New Right) wave National Romanian flags and New Right flags during a rally in Bucharest, June 2011.  Archive photo: EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday ruled that Romania failed to uphold the prohibition of discrimination when far-right homophobes stormed an LGBT film screening in Bucharest in February 2013.

The Strasbourg-based court also ruled that Romania failed to uphold the right to respect for private and family life and the right to freedom of assembly and association, which are all protected by the European Convention of Human Rights.

The screening of the film about a gay family was part of LGBT History Month. A protest against event was held by extremist groups near the venue at the Museum of the Romanian Peasant.

Despite the presence of police, around 45 protesters thought to be part of the fringe far-right party Noua Dreapta stormed the cinema and threatened viewers by shouting homophobic slogans and hurling insults at them. At the time of the attack, the audience numbered no more than 20.

Members of Noua Dreapta (New Right) have been responsible for many incidents of homophobic violence in Romania since the party’s founding in 2000. Noua Dreapta has also made a habit of protesting against the Bucharest Pride parade every year. It has never won seats in parliament.

The investigation into the incident was closed in October 2014 by a Bucharest prosecution body, which described the attack as “an exchange of views”.

Another investigation, into the use of fascist symbols during the raid, was also discontinued by Romanian authorities in August 2017, and none of the perpetrators have been indicted.

LGBT rights group ACCEPT and five individuals who were present at the screening subsequently took their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

The Strasbourg court concluded that the Bucharest authorities “failed to offer adequate protection in respect of the individual applicants’ dignity… and to effectively investigate the real nature of the homophobic abuse directed against” the applicants.

“The authorities thus discriminated against the applicants on the grounds of their sexual orientation,” the judges added in their verdict.

They ordered the Romanian state “to pay 7,500 euros to the applicant association and 9,750 to each individual applicant”.

The 3,264 euros spent by the applicants to bring the legal proceedings must also be covered by Romania, the court said.