EU court condemns discrimination against Jews, Roma

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday ruled in favour of Jewish and Roma plaintiffs who said they were prevented from running for office in Bosnia because of their ethnic origin (photo: two Bosnian Roma children).

AFP - The European Court of Human Rights condemned Bosnia for having forbidden Jews and Roma to stand for key elected posts, including parliament and the presidency, in a judgement issued Tuesday.

The court found in favour of the two plaintiffs, described as prominent public figures: Dervo Sejdic is of Roma origin while Jakob Finci is Jew.

Finci had inquired about running for parliament and the presidency, said the a statement from the court.

"On 3 January 2007 he received a written confirmation from the Central Election Commission that he was ineligible to stand to such elections because of his Jewish origin," it added.

Date created : 2009-12-22