Hate crimes committed based on the victim’s personal circumstances such as national origin, race, sex, language or religion will be given harsher sentences after amendments to the criminal code were passed in parliament.
The amendment to article 49 of the criminal code, which provides general rules on sentencing, says that if a crime is committed against a victim due to the victim’s personal circumstances, this will be considered an aggravating circumstance in the sentencing.
The amendment refers back to article 14 of the constitution, which stipulates that everyone enjoys human rights and fundamental freedoms “irrespective of national origin, race, sex, language, religion, political, or other conviction, material standing, birth, education, social status, disability, or any other personal circumstance.”
The harsher sentencing, which was confirmed by the National Assembly on 27 January, is the first step towards a new systemic approach to hate crimes, Justice Minister Dominika Švarc Pipan said during the committee debate.
The amendments also transpose the provisions of several EU directives dealing with trafficking in persons, EU funds fraud, and the fight against terrorism.
For example, a new crime of collecting funds with the intention of financing terrorism has been added to the statute.
(Sebastijan R. Maček | sta.si)
Source: euractiv.com
