An Introduction

The situation in prisons continued to cause concern in 2004: although the overall share of pre-trial detainees decreased, juveniles on remand remained appallingly high at 58.5% of all juveniles in prison.  The number of officially registered asylum seekers remained very small and the lack of clarity concerning the status and rights of illegal migrants continued.  Latvia was still in breech of Article 5 of the European Convention of Human and Fundamental Rights because of lack of legislation concerning psychiatric assistance.

Last year the expressions of radicalism increased in the political arena.  European Union anti-discrimination norms were not fully transposed in 2004.  Legislative initiatives raised concerns over the potential restriction of fundamental rights, especially in the area of peaceful assembly.

These issues are stressed in the annual human rights report of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights and Ethnic Studies (LCHRES).

The report is published in Latvian and English and it is available on the home page of the LCHRES, as well as in the office of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights and Ethnic Studies. The report is also published in a shorter version in the Annual Report of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights. The print run of the report is 1,300.

To read full report:  Report_2004 (PDF, 477.97 KB)