Lithuania

In April 2021, the Lithuanian Police established a virtual patrol unit to monitor social networks and carry out preventive activities online by collecting information about alleged violations, including hate crime, and transferring that information to the relevant police unit to carry out investigations.  

Furthermore, in 2021, the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) adopted the Law on Assistance to Victims of Criminal Offences, which transposes EU Directive 2012/29 on establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime. The Law strengthens the support offered to hate crime victims by requiring investigating officers to take victims' individual needs into account from the outset of the proceedings. According to the Law, assistance to victims must be provided free of charge and, in the case of a violent crime, victims are entitled to compensation for material and non-material damages. 

A website "Nepyka.lt" was launched by the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson. The website provides information on hate speech and hate crimes and is intended for practitioners, victims, and members of the public seeking information about these phenomena.  

A working group set up by the Ministry of Interior to promote an effective response to hate crimes and hate speech met four times in 2021. The working group consists of representatives of the criminal justice system, other relevant agencies, and civil society. The meetings included an ODIHR workshop on understanding and strengthening hate crime responses, which resulted in a set of recommendations.  

In June 2021, the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) and ODIHR co-organized an awareness-raising workshop for 36 prosecutors from across the country, as well as representatives of the OPG, Ministry of Interior, and civil society. The workshop resulted in a formal request by the OPG for ODIHR to review the OPG's existing methodological guidance on hate crime.