Integration monitor is a daily Latvian press digest on ethnic minority and society integration issues. The Monitor reviews the biggest Latvian dailies: Diena, Latvijas Avize, Neatkariga (in Latvian language), Vesti Segodnya (in Russian language). In specific cases other information sources are used. Latvian Centre for Human Rights is not responsible for information published by the media.

• Newspapers continue to report on different reactions of the society members on the ban to distribute invitations for cancer screening in Russian language

Latvijas Avize reports that the head of the State Language Centre (SLC) Maris Baltins appealed to the Security Police with a claim against member of a political party “For Native Language” Illarions Girs for threats to a state official. Head of SLC is outraged by Illarions Girs’ post on Facebook in which, commenting the fact that the SLC banned the National Health Service from distributing invitations for cancer screening in Russian language, Mr Girs described possible consequences of such restriction such as death of someone’s mother from cancer whose son later would want to revenge the SLC and killed the head of language control department Antons Kursitis. According to the newspaper such post is dangerous because it is modelling certain behaviour of people and could urge for violence. As earlier reported, the decision of the SLC to restrict distribution of invitation for cancer screening raised many critics towards the SLC as its actions and interpretation of legal acts are too exaggerated. Director of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights Anhelita Kamenska stressed the SLC wrongly interprets the State Language Law and that the anti-cancer campaign is aimed at checking people’s health, not their state (Latvian) language proficiency. Also some MPs were critical about such restriction but a lecturer of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga Boriss Ginzburgs, in his turn, calculated that by such restriction the SLC kills about 5-6 women who might not understand the invitation for screening in Latvian language and, therefore, do not respond to it every year. Latvijas Avize, Vesti Segodnya