Serbian Interior Minister Aleksandad Vulin has been cleared of discrimination after using a slur against Albanians.
Earlier this week, the Belgrade Court of Appeals confirmed a verdict that Vulin did not discriminate against the country’s Albanian community by calling them “Shiptars”.
Albanians call themselves Shqiptars, but the use of Shiptar by Serbians is done in a highly derogatory manner. Vulin has used the slur in public on multiple occasions. The Albanian National Council filed complaints against him in May 2019.
The Council said they will now take the matter to the Constitutional Court and if that does not work, it will go to the European Court of Human Rights.
The Belgrade Higher Court agreed that the term “shiptar” is offensive, but said it does not incite inequality, violence and hatred. The appeal court held up that ruling.
