Latvia: court sets precedent in hate crime case

RIGA – In a landmark ruling on Jan. 30, a Latvian court handed two men short prison sentences for committing a hate crime. This was the first time in Latvia that perpetrators of a hate crime have been sent to prison, and the second hate crime conviction overall. It was long-awaited legal case – the Riga Regional Court sentenced two men to short jail terms for physically assaulting a black man last summer. The State Police stressed that it was the first instance of justice being served for a race-based attack in Latvia, which occur with shameful regularity. The significance of the verdict in the racist attack cannot be overstated. Finally, Latvia?s police and prosecutors have shown a semblance to moral beings when it comes to a hate-based crime, and now the message has been sent out. Still, it is way too early in the battle for self-praise. Much law-enforcement work, much of it gritty and thankless, needs to be done. For years now there have been reports that much of the latest string of attacks on dark-skinned foreigners is part of a larger, organized plan. More info at www.leta.lv