The experience of a foreign student in Riga

An Indian citizen, a foreign student went to a store after an event in the Old Town of Riga. The young man was approached by three local men at the entrance of the store. Asked if the student had a lighter. The student replied that he does not smoke and does not have a lighter himself, but said that he can definitely buy one in the store. 

The men responded rudely to the young man and pushed him. The student tried to leave, but the men surrounded him and did not allow him to leave, spoke loudly and rudely, touched him several times, and issued threats. 

The attackers repeatedly said in English that there was no place for him in Latvia and that he should go back to India.

What to do in a similar situation?

Practical advice: in such a situation, it is important to get to safety quickly and avoid any provocation. If you are in the company of several people, it is useful to make a photo, video or audio recordings of how the attack, provocation take place, as well as to identify any witnesses that could confirm the facts of a possible attack.

Hate crimes should be reported to the State Police as soon as possible by calling 110 or contacting the nearest police station.

The victim must describe what happened to the police officer in as much detail as possible, paying attention to the special indicators of hate crimes, such as the fact that the attacker has expressed racist, xenophobic, homophobic, etc. notes or slogans, the attacker had special clothing or inscriptions on it, tattoos with various symbols, etc.

Hate speech on the Internet can be reported to the administration of a particular website by using the reporting tools or by writing to mentioned contact email.