In most serious cases, the hate crime is considered to be a criminal offense. When a person is charged with a crime, they are called “the accused” and the criminal charges are examined in criminal proceedings.
Aggravating circumstances
In Lithuania, the Criminal Code establishes that any crime committed with a biased motive towards an individual or a group due to the victim’s age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, race, nationality, language, origins, social situation, religion or beliefs is considered to have aggravating circumstances. This means that, due to the committed hate crime, the person is charged with such a criminal offense as, for example, murder, bodily harm or property damage, but during the trial, the court should take into account the aggravating circumstances, namely, the biased motive, when adopting the decision.
Read more about the right to a fair trial in criminal proceedings.
Hate speech
Although not all instances of hate speech can be considered to be hate crimes, both have certain similar characteristics. Namely, both are motivated by hatred or intolerance against individuals or groups, based on certain attributes. The Criminal Code distinguishes hate speech as a substantive criminal offence, which is therefore different from an aggravating circumstance. In general, aggravating circumstances can be applied to all crimes established in the Criminal Code. For the crime to be considered hate speech, it must fit the description of hate speech outlined in the law.
Read more about hate speech and the differences between hate crimes and hate speech.