Muslims, Orthodox, mob action and hate speech: Georgian Muslim Relations and Others

In Georgian Muslim Relations and Others v Georgia [2023] ECHR 949, the presenting issue was the Government’s alleged failure to take adequate measures to protect the applicants from unlawful mob action, hate speech and other discriminatory actions in the context of their being prevented from opening a Muslim boarding school [1].

In 2014, the first applicant, Georgian Muslim Relations (“GMR”), leased a plot of land with a building in Kobuleti for a Muslim boarding school [5]. They alleged that when the local Orthodox Christians learned of the plan, they started holding protests against the opening of a Muslim school in the neighbourhood. Between July and November 2014, locals barricaded the entrance of the building to stop GMR from finalising the necessary renovations. The applicants alleged that their attempts to open the school were repeatedly blocked with the connivance of the police and other local authorities – with the result that the school was never opened [6]. Continue reading