Latvian Centre for Human Rights has published report “Human Rights in Latvia in 2025”
The aim of the report Human Rights in Latvia in 2025 is to provide independent and objective information on the human rights situation in Latvia during 2025.
Although the LCHR report does not claim to offer a fully comprehensive overview of the human rights landscape in Latvia, we seek to highlight progress, current challenges and key developments in the areas that fall within the Centre’s focus. The report primarily addresses civil and political rights. The review covers areas such as general context and electoral rights, the right to a fair trial, human rights issues in prisons, non‑discrimination, hate crimes and hate speech, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and belief, freedom of assembly and association, minority rights and social cohesion, prevention of domestic violence and violence against women, citizenship and residence rights, and the rights of asylum seekers and refugees.
The human rights situation in Latvia was shaped by both domestic political developments and international events. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its fourth year, and Ukrainian civilians fleeing the war continued to arrive in Latvia. Tensions along the Latvia-Belarus border remained high, and a heightened border security regime remained in force in the parishes of Ludza, Krāslava and Augšdaugava municipalities, the city of Daugavpils, and the Kaunata parish of Rēzekne Municipality.
Government instability deepened when the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) joined an initiative by several opposition parties to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. In November, the Saeima’s (parliament) decision to withdraw from the Convention triggered widespread public protests in Latvia and abroad. The President of Latvia declined to promulgate the law and returned it to the Saeima for reconsideration. The Saeima subsequently decided to postpone further consideration of the issue until the next parliamentary term. The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe warned that withdrawal from international human rights treaties could weaken human rights protection. The Council of Europe’s expert group GREVIO carried out its initial evaluation visit to Latvia from 3 to 7 November 2025.
On 18 September 2025, the Saeima appointed Dr iur. Karina Palkova as Ombudsperson.
Construction of the new Liepāja Prison continued. The Council of Europe also continued to supervise Latvia’s implementation of the judgment in D. v. Latvia concerning the prevention of the informal prisoner hierarchy and inter-prisoner violence. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published a highly critical report following its 2024 ad hoc visit to Latvia and subsequently visited the country for high-level talks on 3 March 2025. A separate National Preventive Mechanism Unit for the monitoring of closed institutions was established within the Office of the Ombudsperson.
Latvia ratified Protocol No. 16 to the European Convention on Human Rights, enabling the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court to request advisory opinions from the European Court of Human Rights.
The State Security Service requested that the Prosecutor’s Office initiate criminal proceedings against Riga City Councillor and leader of the party “Stability!” (Stabilitātei!) A. Rosļikovs for inciting hatred and hostility between Latvians and Russians. In December, the Prosecutor General’s Office issued a warning to the party “Stability!”, finding, among other things, that the party’s activities were aimed at inciting national hatred and discord. In early 2025, following the ECtHR judgment in D. Hanovs v. Latvia, the Ministry of Justice, in cooperation with legal experts, updated its guidance on the classification of hate crimes. Several individuals were convicted for inciting hatred on social media. At the end of 2024, the Latvian Journalists’ Association established a reporting platform for hate speech, violence and harassment in the media sector.
The Senate of the Supreme Court initiated cassation proceedings in a case concerning the registration in Latvia of a same-sex marriage concluded abroad.
The Administrative Regional Court found unlawful a decision of the National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) to revoke the broadcasting licence of the television channel TV Rain. The NEPLP subsequently lodged an appeal on points of law. The government approved the Journalists’ and Other Media Professionals’ Safety Plan 2025–2027, drafted by the Ministry of Culture in cooperation with media and journalists’ organisations, as well as law enforcement authorities. The plan aims to strengthen media freedom in Latvia, protect journalists from violence, threats and harassment, and ensure a stable legal and institutional framework for their protection.
The Saeima adopted the Law on the Dievturi Community, thereby recognising an ethnic religion for the first time. In a separate case, three members of the religious organisation First Evangelical Jesus Congregation were sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from two years and seven months to two years and ten months for the unlawful provision of medical treatment during a home birth that resulted in the deaths of both the infant and the mother.
The financial situation of many NGOs was adversely affected by significant reductions or suspensions of United States support programmes, including USAID. The funding available under the 2025 call for proposals of the “NGO Fund” amounted to EUR 2.35 million. During discussions on the state budget, proposals to abolish the Society Integration Foundation and reduce funding for civil society and the media were criticised but were ultimately not supported.
The exercise of freedom of assembly increased in 2025. On 6 November, pickets were held in Riga and other Latvian cities against Latvia’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention. In Rodina and Borisova v. Latvia, the European Court of Human Rights found that restrictions on events posing a threat to national security and contrary to democratic values were justified.
The Constitutional Court held that the legal provisions requiring the use of the state language in paid pre-election campaigning were compatible with the Constitution.
On 1 September 2025, Latvia completed the gradual transition to education solely in the state language, with the final groups of pupils (Years 3, 6 and 9) and pre-school children commencing education entirely in Latvian. Latvian Radio 4 (in Russian) ceased FM broadcasting on 31 December 2025. A large-scale survey found that 74% of minority pupils fully or mostly understood education delivered in Latvian, while 24% continued to experience difficulties in fully comprehending educational content in the state language. The government allocated EUR 2.035 million to support the teaching and preservation of minority languages and cultures.
Some members of the Saeima and public commentators expressed concern about the potential negative impact on social cohesion and media pluralism of restricting Russian-language content. The complete removal of Russian-language content could reduce access to reliable information and contribute to the spread of disinformation, particularly among communities that continue to consume media in Russian.
The number of people naturalised as Latvian citizens increased slightly. Since 2020, Latvian citizenship has been granted automatically to new born non-citizen children; however, 1,036 children aged 6-17 remained non-citizens. A total of 76.9% of applicants for Latvian citizenship passed the knowledge test (including history), while around 44% passed the Latvian language proficiency examination. The process stemming from amendments to the Immigration Law continued, requiring citizens of the Russian Federation to renew their residence permits in order to obtain EU long-term resident status.
The number of asylum seekers in 2025 (1,288) increased by approximately 1.6 times compared with 2024 (801). An oral hearing was held in the ECtHR case H.M.M. v. Latvia, but judgment has not yet been delivered. Human rights activist I. Raubiško was sentenced to 200 hours of community service.
The Latvian Centre for Human Rights hopes that this report will contribute to broader public awareness and understanding of various human rights issues, enable an assessment of progress and setbacks across different areas of human rights, and serve as an informative resource for educational institutions, state and municipal authorities, NGOs, the media and the wider public. LCHR also hopes that it will encourage other NGOs to prepare similar reports in their respective fields.
The report has been prepared as part of the project “Strengthening Human Rights Culture in Latvia”, which is financially supported by the Society Integration Foundation from the funds of the state budget of Latvia. The Latvian Centre for Human Rights is responsible for the content of the report.
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Published: 2026-10-20