Press Releases and Statements

27th June – Pride Day – Marked by the Action “Hate-Free Zone” and a Walk in Downtown Belgrade

Posted by GSA June 28, 2013
27th June – Pride Day – Marked by the Action "Hate-Free Zone" and a Walk in Downtown Belgrade

Belgrade, 27.06.2013.

The international Pride Day was marked today in Belgrade by an action called „Hate-Free Zone“ („Zona slobodna od mržnje“) and a short walk from the Republic Square (central square in Belgrade) through main Belgrade streets.

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GSA representative in the Council for gender equality of the Serbian Government

Posted by GSA May 22, 2013
GSA representative in the Council for gender equality of the Serbian Government

Belgrade, 22.05.2013.

Gay straight alliance (GSA; Alliance) with great pleasure informs the public that its representative, Milan Pantelic, has been named as a member of the Council for gender equality of the Government of the Republic of Serbia (Council).

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Rainbow Award – to the Department for community policing of the Ministry of Interior

Posted by GSA May 17, 2013
Rainbow Award – to the Department for community policing of the Ministry of Interior

Belgrade, 17.05.2013.

The first “Rainbow” Award was awarded tonight at the Belgrade City Hall – award for contributions to the fight against homophobia and transphobia and for the improvement of the status of LGBT population in Serbia.

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Jury makes a short-list for the first “Rainbow” Award

Posted by GSA May 15, 2013
Jury makes a short-list for the first "Rainbow" Award

Belgrade, 15.05.2013.

The jury for 2012/13 “Rainbow” Award chose 5 nominees at their meeting yesterday, one of whom will receive the award which is being awarded for the first time this year.

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Reaction to the article “Straight people will be banned from entering the first Serbian LGBT corner”

Posted by GSA May 09, 2013
Reaction to the article "Straight people will be banned from entering the first Serbian LGBT corner"

Belgrade, 09.05.2013.

Gay Straight Alliance (GSA; Alliance) believes that the positions and messages of the „NGO Egal” representative, stated in the article “Straight people will be banned from entering the first Serbian LGBT corner”, published yesterday in Belgrade’s daily newspaper “24 sata”, and which was transmitted by other media as well, are extremely inappropriate and could harm severely the LGBT community in Serbia.

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USS: Rights to judical protection and remedy were violated during banning of Pride Parade 2011 but there was no discrimination

Posted by GSA April 29, 2013
USS: Rights to judical protection and remedy were violated during banning of Pride Parade 2011 but there was no discrimination

Belgrade, 29.04.2013.

Gay Straight Alliance (GSA; Alliance) welcomes the decision of the Constitutional Court of Serbia (USS; Court) to adopt a constitutional complaint (complaint) of the non-governmental organization Belgrade Pride Parade for banning Pride Parade 2011 in Belgrade (Pride 2011). Although the complaint was not adopted in full by the Court, but in part, it is very important that with this decision the Court stated that the Pride 2011 organizers’ rights, “the right to judicial protection under Article 22 of the Constitution, the right to a remedy under Article 36 of the Constitution and consequently the right to freedom of assembly under Article 54 of the Constitution”, have been violated.

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The conference “Incrimination of hate crime – a good way to prevent and decrease violence” was held

Posted by GSA April 16, 2013
The conference "Incrimination of hate crime - a good way to prevent and decrease violence" was held

Belgrade, 16.04.2013.

Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM) and Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) today in Media Center in Belgrade held a conference that initiated activities to promote the importance of incrimination of hate crime in the Criminal Code (CC) of the Republic of Serbia (RS).

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First year of awarding “Rainbow” – award for contributions to the fight against homophobia and transphobia

Posted by GSA April 09, 2013
First year of awarding "Rainbow" – award for contributions to the fight against homophobia and transphobia

Belgrade, 09.04.2013.

Gay Straight Alliance (GSA; Alliance) would like to inform the public that this year we will start giving an award for contributions to the fight against homophobia and transphobia, and the protection and promotion of human rights of LGBT people in Serbia. The award named “Rainbow” (“Duga” in Serbian language) will be awarded every year on May 17th, which is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), for contributions in the previous year.

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DS Plan includes anti-discrimination points concerning the LGBT population

Posted by GSA March 20, 2013
DS Plan includes anti-discrimination points concerning the LGBT population

Belgrade, 20.03.2013.

Gay Straight Alliance (GSA; Alliance) welcomes the adoption of the program document of the Democratic Party (DS) which, among other things, includes anti-discrimination points and proposals for measures for improving status of LGBT population.

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Serbian National Movement “Naši” lying and deceiving the public; GSA to file a lawsuit

Posted by GSA January 22, 2013
Serbian National Movement "Naši" lying and deceiving the public; GSA to file a lawsuit

Belgrade, 21.01.2013.

Gay Straight Alliance (GSA; Alliance) wishes to announce that, during an inflammatory campaign in the past couple of months, the far-right organisation Serbian National Movement “Naši” (SNP Naši; Naši means „Ours“ in English) has stated a lot of shameless lies about GSA and its work, by which SNP Naši conciously and in the crudest way tried to deceive the Serbian and international public. After seeing everything that SNP Naši has claimed through numerous press releases and statements about GSA and other organisations and media that are on their so-called black list, which they published on their website and other media, and after consulting with its litigation team Alliance has decided to file criminal charges against responsible individuals in SNP Naši for false reporting and other acts from the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia which have caused huge damage to Alliance. Also, in later court proceedings, in addition to criminal charges GSA intends to file a compensation claim lawsuit in the amount of one million dinars for falsehoods told about GSA’s work by SNP Naši.

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First final verdict for severe discrimination at the workplace based on sexual orientation

Posted by GSA January 09, 2013
First final verdict for severe discrimination at the workplace based on sexual orientation

Belgrade, 09.01.2013.

Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) wishes to inform the public that its Litigation Service received the final verdict of the Court of Appeals in city of Novi Sad which confirmed discriminatory behavior and the severe discrimination against M.A. (25) from the Serbian city of Vršac by his colleague Dario K. (26) from Vlajkovac (place near by Vršac). The discrimination lasted continuously for several months at the workplace in a private company in Vršac where both men worked.

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Vesna Pesic, guest of the GSA at the meeting with GSA members

Posted by GSA November 10, 2012
Vesna Pesic, guest of the GSA at the meeting with GSA members

Belgrade, 09.11.2012

On Wednesday, November 7, 2012, Dr. Vesna Pesic, sociologist and ex MP in several convolutions of parliament was a guest at the weekly meeting of the Gay straight alliance’s (GSA; Alliance) members. Vesna Pesic is a prominent member of the Serbian sociopolitical scene and founder of numerous organizations fighting for peace and human rights. She was one of the leaders of the coalition “Together, Zajedno” which organized huge protests lasting for months for the election fraud by Milosevic’s regime in 1996/97. She was the founder and the first president of the Civic Alliance of Serbia (CAS, GSS), political party that during the 90’s conducted pronouncedly anti war politics, and after the merging of GSS and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in 2007, she became a president of the Political Council of the LDP. She received a numerous international rewards for democracy, and in 1997 she was nominated for a Nobel peace prize. She retired from LDP and politics in 2011, but is still very active in public and working on sociological and political analysis.

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How I Made Pride 2010

Posted by GSA October 24, 2012
How I Made Pride 2010

 Mirjana Bogdanović, GSA Executive Director, for Serbian gay magazine “Optimist”

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Verdict on Nebojsa Bakarec for severe discrimination of LGBT population became final

Posted by GSA October 23, 2012
Verdict on Nebojsa Bakarec for severe discrimination of LGBT population became final

Belgrade, 23.10.2012.

Gay Straight Alliance (GSA; Alliance) informs the public that the verdict of the First Basic Court in Belgrade, which determined discriminatory behavior and severe form of discrimination of LGBT population by Nebojsa Bakarec, official of the conservative Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and councilor in the Belgrade City Assembly, became final (res judicata), after sentenced Bakarec did not appeal against the first instance verdict in the legal time limit. The verdict which has now become final was based on articles 11, 12, 13 and 21 of the Serbian Anti-Discrimination Law. With this verdict Nebojsa Bakarec is prohibited from repeating the discriminatory behavior and was ordered to pay legal fees to the plaintiff (GSA).

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Hate crime in the draft of Law on Ammendments and Addendums of the Criminal Code

Posted by GSA October 15, 2012
Hate crime in the draft of Law on Ammendments and Addendums of the Criminal Code

Belgrade, 15.10.2012

Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM) and Gay Straight Alliance (GSA; Alliance) commend the decision of the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration to include article 54a regarding hate crime in the draft of the Law on Ammendments and Addendums of the Criminal Code (CC), available for public comment. Article 54a, which includes hate crime as an aggravating circumstance, reads as follows:
“If a criminal act is committed due to hatred based on other person’s race, religion, national or ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, such act will be deemed by the court as an aggravating circumstance, unless it is not stipulated by this code as a feature of a criminal act.“

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