Swedish Supreme Court rules supermarket ban on Romani woman discriminatory

07 December 1999

On September 13, 1999, the Swedish Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision that the ban on entry to a Romani woman named Ms R.B. by a supermarket in the town of Eskiltuna, approximately one hundred and fifty kilometres west of Stockholm, had been unlawful. The owners, two brothers named Fredrik and Stevan Larsson, stated that they refused to admit Ms R.B. because they believed that she could easily smuggle stolen goods out of the shop under her long skirt. Counsel for Ms R.B. noted that the brothers had not banned entry to persons wearing long coats. According to the Supreme Court, the ban was discriminatory against Roma as the long full skirt is a part of Romani traditional costume. In its decision, the Court stated, "...this prohibition is formulated in a way that it almost exclusively and generally is aimed at women of the Gypsy community, more exactly the Finnish Gypsy community, which is something the two brothers must have realized. This kind of negative special treatment must be considered ethnic discrimination and is therefore subject to prohibition under the penal code." The Supreme Court ordered the owners of the supermarket to lift the ban and pay a fine of 1800 Swedish crowns (approximately 200 euro) and 5000 Swedish crowns (approximately 585 euro) in damages to Ms R.B.

(ERRC)