Further Action against Hate Speech in Russia

18 May 2007

On 10 August 2006, the ERRC sent a letter of concern to Mr Nikolay Zaikov, editor-inchief of the Russian daily newspaper Vechernij Novosibirsk, expressing concern at the rise of anti-Romani hate speech published in the newspaper and with the continuous identification of Roma with illegal drug dealing and crime. The letter was copied to the Siberian Regional Directorate within the Russian Federal Surveillance Service for Compliance with the Law in Mass Communications and Cultural Heritage Protection.

Vechernij Novosibirsk, without any editorial remarks, quoted Mr Andrey Dmitriev, Deputy Director of the Regional Directorate of the Federal Drug Control Service (FDCS), as having stated on several dates in 2005 and 2006 that "Yes, there are Roma in Novosibirsk region, who do not sell opium. These are the Roma who sell heroin. The number of others is very low." The newspaper repeatedly referred to Roma in articles relating to criminal activities and in published records of criminal activity.

The ERRC urged the editor-in-chief and journalists of Vechernij Novosibirsk to take a firm stand against hate speech and to refrain from inflammatory anti-Romani language in their publications.

Media monitoring by the ERRC and Russian local partners in Moscow, the region of Samara and several other regions in Central Russia, points to the fact that Russian media contributes to the perpetuation of anti-Romani racism by creating a strong association between Roma and crime and by even encouraging, in some instances, violence and discrimination against Roma.

(ERRC)