Hate Speaking online and more

There are more hate speech definitions and they have been issued by the Council of Europe and the OSCE and other international organizations. In short, hate speech would be radical speech, especially against groups, not individuals, or if an individual is insulted in order to reach the group and which contains incitement to violence.

 

Hate speech, and if not by that name, was sanctioned in the Criminal Code by Art. 319.
The case is titled "Causing Hate, Dispute or Intolerance on National, Racial, Religious and Other Discriminatory grounds", where the suspended sentence is from one to 5 years, and in case of severe consequences up to 10 years in prison:

He who by coercion, harassment, endangering security, exposing the mockery of national, ethnic, religious and other symbols, by burning, destroying or otherwise damaging the flag of the Republic of Macedonia or flags of other countries, by damaging other people's objects, with desecration of monuments, graves or in any other discriminatory manner, directly or indirectly, will cause or inflame hatred, discord or intolerance on the basis of gender, race, skin color, gender, belonging to a marginalized group, ethnicity, language, citizenship, social origin, religion or religious belief, other types of beliefs, education, political affiliation, personal or social status, mental or physical disability, age, marital or marital status, property status, health status, or on any other basis provided by law or ratified the international agreement, shall be punished by imprisonment of one to five years.

 

(2) A person who commits the crime from the item (1) of this article by abusing his position or authority or if due to those acts there is disorder and violence against people or to large-scale property damage, shall be punished with imprisonment of one up to ten years.

 

In Article 394-d, hate speech is also sanctioned through computer systems, but also through public media. The work is titled Spreading Racist and Xenophobic Material by Computer System. The suspended sentence is from one to 5 years, and with more severe consequences for up to 10 years.
Finally, there is the case of Rasna and Other Discrimination, referred to in Article 417, where the suspended sentence is from 6 months to five years, including one that prosecutes an individual or organization that fights discrimination on any grounds.

 

As can be seen, the Criminal Code is sufficiently "equipped" with members who sanction hate speech and hate speech. The effects of such suspended sentences can be felt in society only if the prosecution and the police do their job more efficiently.

 

However, care must always be taken to strike a balance between the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression and hate speech, which can then lead to hate crime. Freedom of speech must not be compromised, just as it must not be abused.