Lithuania
Lithuania regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. Data are collected by the Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior and the Prosecutor General's Office. Lithuania's annual hate crime report is published here.
Lithuania began implementing ODIHR's Training Against Hate Crime for Law Enforcement (TAHCLE) programme in 2015 and continues to train police officers using ODIHR's training curriculum. In 2018, Lithuania co-organized a workshop on hate crime recording and data collection with ODIHR and the EU Fundamental Rights Agency. The workshop was based on ODIHR's Information Against Hate Crimes Toolkit (INFAHCT) and resulted in a set of recommendations for relevant state authorities.
In February 2020, the Lithuanian Ministry of Interior established a working group to promote an effective response to hate crimes and hate speech in Lithuania. The working group consists of representatives of eight national authorities and 12 civil society organizations. The working group proposes measures to strengthen the effectiveness of efforts to address hate crime and hate speech, monitors the implementation of international obligations, considers relevant legislation, and prepares annual reports on the situation of hate crimes and hate speech in Lithuania, among other roles.
In 2023, the Action Plan for the Implementation of Equal Opportunities, 2024-2026, was approved, and includes measures to prevent hate speech and hate crimes. Amendments were also made to recommendations for the pre-trial investigation of hate crime and hate speech, drafted with support from ODIHR, to include a definition of hate crime and bias indicators.
OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES
| Year | Hate crimes recorded by police | Prosecuted | Sentenced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 16 | 5 | 2 |
| 2023 | 25 | 8 | 7 |
| 2022 | 34 | 12 | 6 |
| 2021 | 31 | 10 | 10 |
| 2020 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| 2019 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
| 2017 | 9 | 4 | 3 |
| 2016 | 20 | 6 | 7 |
| 2015 | 24 | 5 | 4 |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 2012 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| 2011 | 5 | 2 | Not available |
| 2010 | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| 2009 | 3 | Not available | Not available |
About 2024 Data
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The year-to-year drop in the numbers in the table above is due, among other possible factors, to changes in ODIHR's methodology, specifically the exclusion of offences of incitement to hatred, hostility or violence (Article 170(3) of Lithuania's Criminal Code) from its Hate Crime Report.
Hate crime recorded by police
Twenty cases of incitement speech were recorded by police and reported to ODIHR but were excluded as falling outside of ODIHR's hate crime definition.
KEY OBSERVATION
ODIHR recognizes Lithuania's efforts to enhance the cooperation between national public authorities and civil society organizations to respond to hate crime. However, based on the available information, it observes the low numbers of officially recorded hate crimes. In addition, Lithuania would benefit from further building the capacity of prosecutors and judges to address hate crimes.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decisions 9/09 and 12/04, OSCE participating States committed to collecting reliable data and statistics, taking appropriate measures to encourage victims to report hate crimes – including through co-operation with civil society – and to making use of all reliable information available. To that end, a robust system for recording hate crimes and initiatives to encourage victims to report such crimes must be introduced. Participating States have also committed to introducing or further developing professional training and capacity-building activities for law enforcement, prosecution, and judicial officials dealing with hate crimes.
ODIHR stands ready to support Lithuania in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as by providing further tailored capacity-building assistance for the prosecution, and judiciary.
OVERVIEW OF INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY
For 2024, ODIHR received reports of hate incidents in Lithuania from the following civil society organizations:
- Lithuanian Gay League
- Jewish Community of Lithuania
- International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF)
- The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC)
To learn more about these organizations, visit the Contributors page.
In addition, ODIHR also received reports of incidents recorded by the Holy See as part of their ongoing monitoring across the OSCE region.
All incidents submitted by the above organizations have been analysed by ODIHR. Those that are broadly considered to be hate crimes within the OSCE definition (criminal offence committed with a bias motive) are listed in the tables below according to the bias motivation category. Some incidents involved multiple biases and may be listed in multiple categories.
ODIHR’s insightsFor 2024, ODIHR received reports of 14 hate incidents that took place in Lithuania in the following bias motivation categories: anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, and anti-LGBTI. ODIHR observes that all of the anti-Semitic incidents reported involved attacks on property associated with the Jewish community, including community centres, cafes, synagogues and memorials. The anti-LGBTI incidents reported included physical assaults and threats. It should be noted that ODIHR did not receive any reporting on Lithuania relating to anti-Muslim, anti-Roma, gender-based or disability hate incidents. This indicates potential gaps in the information reported here. |
Please note that incidents reported here are based on voluntary civil society submissions and as such might not reflect the actual number of incidents or the most targeted communities in Lithuania.
To address under-reporting, ODIHR encourages any civil society organizations or groups that monitor hate incidents in Lithuania to report these to ODIHR at hatecrimereport@odihr.pl.
To export an Excel sheet with summaries of all incidents from Lithuania click here and search by year and country.
CIVIL SOCIETY INCIDENT SUMMARIES
Anti-Semitic hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-02 | Attacks against property | Jewish Community of Lithuania
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Show info |
| 2024 | Attacks against property | Jewish Community of Lithuania
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Show info |
| 2024-03 | Attacks against property | Jewish Community of Lithuania
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Show info |
| 2024-09 | Attacks against property | Jewish Community of Lithuania
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Show info |
| 2024-06 | Attacks against property | Jewish Community of Lithuania
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Show info |
| 2024-06 | Attacks against property | Jewish Community of Lithuania
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Show info |
| 2024-02 | Attacks against property | International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF).
Jewish Community of Lithuania
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Show info |
Anti-Christian hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-08 | Attacks against property | OIDAC
|
Show info |
| 2024-10 | Attacks against property | Holy See
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Show info |
| 2024-08 | Attacks against property | Holy See
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Show info |
| 2024-02 | Attacks against property | OIDAC
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Show info |
Anti-LGBTI hate crime
| Date | Type of incident | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-06 | Violent attacks against people | Lithuanian Gay League (LGL)
|
Show info |
| 2024 | Violent attacks against people | Lithuanian Gay League (LGL)
|
Show info |
| 2024-10 | Threats/Harassment | Lithuanian Gay League (LGL)
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Show info |