Estonia

Estonia's criminal code includes an incitement to violence provision. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for collecting hate crime data. Data on hate crime are regularly published as part of the ministry's annual report on crime in Estonia.

How hate crime data is collected in Estonia

How hate crime data is collected in Estonia

Police officers are obliged to categorize each case reported to the police. Among other values (case type), it is possible to choose between three categories of hate crime:

1. Bias against race, religion origin;
2. Bias against sexual orientation and identity; and
3. Bias against other groups (disability and other social groups).

Methods for identifying hate crimes are described in an instruction prepared by the Ministry of Justice.

Law enforcement agents can mark the motive of a criminal case when the suspect has been identified. It is not obligatory to mark/select/define the motive of the crime because this is not required by the law. Law enforcement agents can choose "hate motive" (vaenumotiiv in Estonian) from the different classifications of motive in the electronic database - the Police Information System. This "hate crime flag" is currently not visible to prosecutors.

All reported crimes are recorded in an electronic system called E-File, which is used by several client-systems including the Police Information System and the Criminal Case Management Register used by prosecutors and investigative bodies. The E-File is an integrated central information system that provides all criminal justice bodies with access to criminal files and enables simultaneous exchange of information. Data entered in the MIS is simultaneously accessible by a prosecutor in the Criminal Case Management Register. The entered information can be further used and changed by the prosecutor in the prosecutors' Register and sent if necessary to the courts information system (KIS). Later, the procedural information and the court decision can be delivered to the Information System of Prisons (VangIS).

The E-File is also used to generate crime statistics, including on hate crimes.

Access more information at the Legislation Online website Legislationline TANDIS Access more information at the Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System (TANDIS) website

OFFICIAL DATA

Year Hate crimes recorded by police Prosecuted Sentenced
2019 Not available Not available Not available
2018 Not available Not available Not available
2017 Not available Not available Not available
2016 15 Not available Not available
2015 Not available Not available Not available
2014 Not available Not available Not available
2013 Not available Not available Not available
2012 Not available Not available Not available
2011 Not available Not available Not available
2010 Not available Not available Not available
2009 2 Not available Not available

INCIDENTS REPORTED BY OTHER SOURCES

Anti-Semitic hate crime

Date Type of incident Source Description
2018-08 Attacks against property
Kantor Center
 Show info

Anti-Muslim hate crime

Date Type of incident Source Description
2018 Attacks against property
SETA
 Show info

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

Racist and xenophobic hate crime, Gender-based hate crime

The United Nations Human Rights Committee published relevant recommendations in its "Concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of Estonia."

KEY OBSERVATION

ODIHR observes that Estonia has not reported to ODIHR the numbers of prosecuted hate crime cases and information on sentenced hate crime cases.