Response to hate speech in Lithuania

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Response to hate speech in Lithuania

• Eduardas Platovas
• LGL
• Dublin 2012

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• Comments on the internet inciting against a
  nationality, race, ethnic, religious or other
  group are classified under criminal offence
  against equality and freedom of conscience.
  Lithuanian laws assume criminal liability for
  these offences.

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• A 37-year-old man from Vilnius has been ordered
  in court to pay a fine of 450 euros (1560
  Lithuanian litas) for a comment he posted under
  an article on Facebook about the Lady Gagas
  criticism of the Lithuanian Government.

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• The First District Court of Vilnius City judged
  that, in his public comment about gays, the man,
  currently employed as a furniture assembler,
  employed inflammatory rhetoric and encouraged
  mockery, defiance, discrimination and physical
  violence against a group of people or its members
  on the grounds of sexual orientation.
  Investigation into the comment was started after
  prosecutors received notification about it from
  Lithuanian Gay League (LGL). 

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• The article concerned Lady Gagas performance in
  connection with Gay Pride events in Rome, during
  which she criticized governments of countries
  that violate the rights of homosexual people,
  including Lithuania.
• In his comment the man said What we need is
  another Hitler to exterminate those fags cause
  theres just too many of them multiplying.

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• The Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman
  also considered the readers comment to encourage
  mockery, defiance and discrimination of a group
  of people or its members. Experts stated that the
  style of the comment is clearly contemptuous and
  reveals hatred towards homosexuals. The wording
  of the comment also directly calls for violent
  actions.

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• During questioning the author of the comment
  admitted publishing the comment on Facebook, but
  argued that his comment was only his own personal
  view. It was not my intention to call for
  violence against gays and I feel sorry for what
  was written I did not expect that this comment
  would insult anyone in the public domain, the
  man said.

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• In 2011, 328 pre-judicial investigations related
  to incitement against a nationality, race,
  ethnic, religious or other group (Article 170 of
  the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania)
  were initiated. 208 of these were related to
  incitement against a group based on sexual
  orientation.

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• 158 pre-judicial investigations were initiated
  under the same article of the Criminal Code in
  2010. 131 of these were related to incitement
  against a group based on sexual orientation.

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Hate speech

• During municipal elections in February 2011, the
  political party Young Lithuania unveiled a slogan
  For A Lithuania Without Blue, Black, Red, and
  Gypsies From the Encampment. Young Lithuania
  explained the slogan saying, for a Lithuania
  without blue the ideology of sexual
  perversion that is being imposed on us from
  abroad.
• Following complaints the Prosecutor General found
  no violation

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• Internet hate speech 80 of investigated cases
  of hate speech are on the ground of sexual
  orientation

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• The decision of Vilnius district prosecutors
  office to terminate the pre-trial investigation
  on a comment posted by an internet user in
  September 2009 under an article about a lesbian
  couple in Norway who have taken a Lithuanian boy
  into custody Lesbians and fags must be shot at
  the wall like the Jews by the Germans. This caste
  must be destroyed, crushed without mercy.

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• Prosecutor Darius Brubulis, who investigated the
  complaint of the Lithuanian Gay League for a year
  and a half, failed to find any basis for
  conclusion that the suspect had committed a
  criminal offence with direct intent.

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• LGL fears that the decision of the prosecutor may
  become a bad example to other prosecutors, which,
  in turn, might spark even more hatred in public.
  Therefore, we appealed the decision. Presently
  prosecutors are investigating four cases of
  threats in internet comments directed personally
  at the leader of the Lithuanian Gay League.

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• For more information see
• www.atviri.lt