NEW YORK - July 25 - Amnesty International today condemned Latvian authorities for failing to protect the physical security of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community as it celebrated “Riga Pride 2006". Gays, lesbians and their supporters were abused physically and verbally at events in Riga on Saturday while police failed to protect them.

"The Latvian authorities kept talking about security threats, but when it came to actually protecting the LGBT community, the police were slow to show up and did little," said Michael Heflin, Director of OUTfront, the Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) program on LGBT human rights. "These incidents reflect a disturbing pattern of Latvian authorities failing to protect the basic human rights of LGBT people."

On July 19, the Riga City Council banned the “Riga Pride 2006” march because of alleged threats of violence against march participants. Three days later, on July 22, attendees of a church service held in support of Riga Pride 2006 were attacked by a large group of people who threw eggs and excrement at them.

A member of the European Parliament and members of national parliaments from across Europe shared a similar experience as they tried to leave a press conference organized by Riga Pride 2006 at a hotel in central Riga later in the day. Along with other press conference participants, they were attacked by a group of up to 100 anti-LGBT protesters.

The organizers of both events had requested police protection well in advance. Yet no significant police presence materialized until a few hours after the start of the attacks against the participants in the press conference. Eventually, 13 of the anti-LGBT protesters were detained on administrative charges and one on criminal charges.

The banning of the Riga Pride 2006 march by Latvian authorities was in violation of the rights to freedom of assembly and expression guaranteed under European and international human rights standards. This violation has been compounded by the failure of the Latvian authorities to protect participants in the alternative events that had been organized by the LGBT community.

Amnesty International is calling on the police and judicial authorities in Latvia to act with due diligence to protect LGBT people against violence from the wider community in the future. The authorities must also make clear that such violence is a criminal offense and will not be tolerated. Specific directives and training should be given to law enforcement officials on their duty to protect the human rights of all individuals -- regardless of their sexuality -- and on how to identify and investigate homophobic crimes.

See also: Amnesty International Denounces Ban of Pride March in Latvia (AIUSA Press Release, 07/21/06) http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGUSA20060721001

For more information on Amnesty International's work on LGBT human rights, please see: www.amnestyusa.org/outfront.

###