Škorjanec v. Croatia (Application no. 25536/14)

A selection of key paragraph(s) can be found below the document.

65. The Court would reiterate that where any evidence of racist verbal abuse comes to light in an investigation, it must be checked and, if confirmed, a thorough examination of all the facts should be undertaken in order to uncover any possible racist motives (see Balázs, cited above, § 61). Moreover, the general context of the attack has to be taken into account. As explained in the Court’s case-law, the domestic authorities should be mindful that perpetrators may have mixed motives, being influenced as much or more by situational factors as by their biased attitude (see paragraph 55 above).
66. Likewise, it should be reiterated that under the Convention the obligation on the authorities to seek a possible link between racist attitudes and a given act of violence exists not only with regard to acts of violence based on the victim’s actual or perceived personal status or characteristics but also with regard to acts of violence based on the victim’s actual or perceived association or affiliation with another person who actually or presumably possesses a particular status or protected characteristic (see paragraph 56 above). Indeed, some hate-crime victims are chosen not because they possess a particular characteristic but because of their association with another person who actually or presumably possesses the relevant characteristic. This connection may take the form of the victim’s membership of or association with a particular group, or the victim’s actual or perceived affiliation with a member of a particular group through, for instance, a personal relationship, friendship or marriage (see paragraphs 33-34 above).