Motivation of the hate speech perpetrator from the Polish and Greek perspective
Motivation of the hate speech perpetrator from the Polish and Greek perspective

Summary/Abstract: Hate speech is a crime that is a serious violation of human rights. The motivation of the perpetrator in the commission of such an offense are certain characteristics of the victim of the crime or the victim’s membership in a particular group, in relation to which the perpetrator feels disinclination. Problems with the laws protecting human rights corresponding with hate speech in Poland and Greece towards various social groups differ when considering the motivation of the perpetrator. The complexity of hate speech and problems with the definition of it were studied. Moreover, the attention was focused on the psychological motivation of the perpetrator. The aim of the study was the comparison of the penalization of hate speech under Polish and Greek law in the context of the motivation of perpetrator. It was concluded that the act of hate speech is always dependent on the context under which it was made, and each such act should be judged on an individual basis. It has been shown that the motivations of the perpetrators of hate speech offenses are closely linked to sociological and political determinants.

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