Bill to Punish Incitement to Violence and Hate Speech Based on Age and Disability to Be Sent to Parliament

The Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs in Cyprus has completed its article-by-article discussion of a bill proposed by MPs Alexandra Attalides and Giorgos Koukoumas to criminalize incitement to violence and/or the dissemination or utterance of hate speech against a person because of their age or disability. The document will soon be forwarded to the plenary session of Parliament.

In comments following the meeting, AKEL MP Giorgos Koukoumas stated that the bill received support from state bodies and public organizations. He recalled that the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union prohibits discrimination based on disability and age.

According to the bill, 14 EU member states have already criminalized hate speech based on disability, and 6 states based on age. Independent MP Alexandra Attalides noted that equality before the law should not be interrupted because of age or disability and reminded that the bill was submitted two years ago; the committee chairman promised to send it to the plenary session shortly after the completion of the detailed discussion.

Attalides also pointed to numerous complaints from organizations representing people with disabilities and the elderly. The proposal includes penalties identical to those contained in the current law on hate speech.