Nebojsa Stefanović can still be "stupid"

European Court of Human Rights he determined that Serbia violated the freedom of expression of sociologist and politician Vesna Pešić by ordering her to pay compensation for damages due to a text in which she harshly criticized the former Minister of the Interior Nebojsa Stefanovic.

It is about the text "Salination" that was published on the Peščanika website on May 13, 2016, after the demolition in Savamali.

Public interest

The court judged that the article referred to a matter of exceptional public interest (the nighttime demolition in Savamala and the failure of the police to act), that Stefanović was a high-ranking state official, who must suffer a much wider level of criticism than a private person, and that expressions such as "stupid", "the most stupid" and "insurmountable stupidity" are harsh and offensive, but they represent value judgments in a political context, and not a mere personal insult without public significance.

The European Court of Human Rights further assessed that the national courts did not apply the standards from Article 10 of the Convention and did not perform a proper balancing act between freedom of expression and the protection of the public official's reputation.

The European Court unanimously found a violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In other words, by punishing Vesna Pešić for her harsh political criticism, Serbia violated her right to freedom of expression.

Nebojša Stefanović's lawsuit

In July 2016, the then Minister of Internal Affairs, Stefanović, filed a lawsuit against Pešić, the association "Peščanik" and its editors-in-chief at the High Court in Belgrade, demanding 200.000 dinars in the name of compensation for non-material damages due to injury to honor and reputation because he was characterized as "stupid".

In November 2018, the Court of Appeal found that Vesna Pešić and the editors of Peščanika must pay Stefanović 150.000 dinars and court costs for the insult.

Pešić submitted her application to the European Court of Human Rights on December 15, 2020.

Although the amount of money was relatively small, the Court judged that it was a matter of fundamental importance for the freedom of political expression and the role of the media, and the petition was allowed.

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