site.btaSupreme Court Finds that Singer Milena Slavova Did not Discriminate against LGBTQ People in Social Media Post

The Supreme Administrative Court Wednesday ruled that singer Milena Slavova did not discriminate against the sexual orientation of the LGBTQ community with her posts on social media on the occasion of Sofia Pride.

In her post, Slavova wrote that "we normal people are suffocating amid the insolence of perverts and their parading". 

Two LGBT youth activists lodged a complaint against Slavova with the Commission for Protection against Discrimination claiming that they felt insulted by her words and that her accusation of immoral behavior were ungrounded. The Commission found that her post was an expression of personal opinion. The LGBTQ activists appealed the decision and the Sofia Administrative Court upheld the appeals and returned the commission decision for a new ruling. Then, Slavova and the Commission for Protection against Discrimination filed cassation appeals before the Supreme Administrative Court against the Sofia Administrative Court's decision.

"In her disapproval of the gay parades, expressed in strong language, there is no discernible sense of denial of the right to self-determination of the Pride participants. This is clearly not intended to violate the dignity of a particular person because of his or her sexual orientation, and furthermore, this disapproval cannot create a generally hostile, degrading, humiliating, offensive or threatening environment towards LGBTQ persons as a distinct group," the court's ruling says.