The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled against the Republic of Moldova, finding that authorities discriminated by restricting a 2013 march organized by the LGBTI group Genderdoc-M in Chișinău. The court awarded the organization 4,500 euros in non-pecuniary damages. The judgment was delivered on October 15.
The authorities had limited the march route after threats from anti-LGBTQ groups. The court unanimously found a violation of the prohibition of discrimination (Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights) in conjunction with the freedom of assembly (Article 11). The threats, it held, did not justify restricting the participants’ rights.
Court: Threats must not automatically lead to restrictions
In the court’s view, the authorities should have protected the gathering rather than shift the consequences of the threats onto the organization. Protection applies even to demonstrations that provoke opposition or rejection. Security measures are possible, but merely the existence of threats should not automatically justify restrictions.
The judgment (Application No. 40235/15) was issued on September 24 by a three-member panel of the Fifth Section and is final. Moldova must pay the compensation within three months.
Back in 2012, the ECtHR had already condemned Moldova in the Genderdoc-M case. At that time it concerned the prohibition of a Genderdoc-M demonstration in Chișinău in May 2005. The court found violations of the freedom of assembly, the right to an effective remedy, and the prohibition of discrimination.
