Is the protection of LGBTQI+ people against hate speech and hate crime in the EU a reality? A Case Study of Czechia

The thesis aims to explore the European Commission’s initiative to criminalise hate speech and hate crime at the EU level, including the bias-motivated grounds related to the LGBTQI+ community. The focus of the paper is on the current stance of the post-socialist member states and the impact of their historical experience with socialist regimes on their approval of adding hate speech and hate crime to the list of Eurocrimes. The thesis will test the hypothesis that the impact of the socialist past decreases the approval of criminalisation of anti-LGBTQI+ hate speech and hate crime. Such presumption stems from the literature describing post-socialist states as more sensitive to issues of freedom of expression. The single case study of Czechia will offer in-depth insight into this issue. Semi-structured interviews with lawyers, MEPs, representatives of the government, and members of NGOs will shed light on the situation in one of the most relevant post-socialist member states. Therefore, the thesis framework can function as a starting point for further research oriented on post-socialist states. The importance of this topic is proven by data showing a long-term upsurge of hate speech and hate crimes against minorities in various EU member states.