An experience of a foreign student on Facebook

A foreign student in Latvia, a Nigerian citizen, posted pictures from his birthday party at a bar on his Facebook profile. The pictures showed a joyful celebration in the company of friends. His circle of friends is quite diverse, including local students from Latvia and several foreign students from different countries. Under the birthday’s Facebook post, there were several comments insulting the students seen in the pictures, calling them monkeys, stating that “all foreigners from Africa are rapists,” and even threatening that “if I see you on the street, I’ll show you not to come to Riga anymore.”

Hate speech is  various forms of expression that incite, promote, propagate, or justify violence, hatred, or discrimination against individuals or groups based on certain characteristics, such as race/skin color, ethnic origin, language, religious belief, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and others.

Articles 78 and 150 of the Criminal Law specify liability for incitement to hatred, violence, and discrimination, as well as for denigration and dehumanization of groups of people.