The ECtHR notes that Art. 14 of the Convention also covers incidents where an individual is treated less favourably because of a certain characteristic of a person, with whom they are associated. Reference is also made to the case of Guberina v. Croatia.

The Court emphasised that Art. 14 also explicitly covers incidents of violence committed not only on the ground of an individual’s existing protective characteristic, but also on ground of an alleged or assumed characteristic and association with a person who is actually or allegedly the bearer of a certain characteristic.

The ECtHR interprets Article 117 § 2 of the Croatian Criminal Code that in the case of a hate crime on racist grounds, the victim does not have to be the bearer of the characteristic or status.

According to the ECtHR, the European Convention on Human Rights states that national authorities are obliged to investigate racist attitudes and related violent crimes not only against persons who have actual or perceived characteristics, but also against persons who do not themselves have these characteristics, but who are/were associated with a bearer of certain characteristics. This association may take the form of the victim’s group affiliation or the perceived affiliation to a particular group through a personal connection such as friendship or marriage.

The ECtHR pointed out that the Croatian authorities had failed to address whether the applicant could be perceived as a person of Rom*nja origin and thus also a victim of a racist hate crime.

As a result, the Croatian government had to pay the applicant 12,500 euros in damages and pay the court costs of 2,200 euros.