Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January-June 2007 strengthen its measures to ensure prompt, impartial and effective investigations into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment committed by law enforcement officials. The Committee emphasized that such investigations should not be undertaken by or under the authority of the police, but by an independent body. In connection with prima facie cases of torture and illtreatment, the suspect should as a rule were subject to suspension or reassignment during the process of investigation, especially if there is a risk that he or she might impede the investigation. The Committee further recommended that Italy review its rules and provisions on the statute of limitations and bring them fully in line with its obligations under the Convention against Torture so that acts of torture as well as attempts to commit torture and acts by any person which constitute complicity or participation in torture, could be investigated, prosecuted and punished without time limitations. The Committee also recommeded that Italy combat racial discrimination, xenophobia and related violence, ensure prompt, impartial and thorough investigations into all such motivated violence and prosecute and punish perpetrators with appropriate penalties which take into account the grave nature of their acts; and that the Italian authorities publicly condemn racial discrimination , xenophobia and related violence and send a clear and unambiguous message that racist or discriminatory acts within the public administration, especially with regard to law enforcement personnel, was unacceptable. LATVIA Freedom of assembly for lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender persons On 3 June, a Pride march was held in Riga to celebrate the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. While participants in similar events in 2005 and 2006 had been subject to physical attacks Amnesty International 73 and did not receive adequate police protection, the 2007 march was adequately protected and no major attacks were carried out. Over 400 persons, including Latvian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group Mozaika and dozens of Latvian activists, an Amnesty International delegation of approximately 70 persons, several Members of the European Parliament and a Swedish government minister, marched in a park in central Riga. The park was closed off and guarded by hundreds of Latvian law enforcement officials, making it virtually impossible for counter-demonstrators to carry out attacks on participants in the Pride parade. There was, however, a noticeable presence of a large number of counter-demonstrators at the march. Counter-demonstrators, engaging in loud verbal abuse and making obscene gestures towards the Pride march participants, ranged from persons of retirement age to pre-teen youngsters. Two home-made explosives were set off inside of the park. Racism In January, the first ever prison sentence was handed down under Section 78 of Latvia’s Criminal Code regarding racially motivated assault. The case concerned a man who was attacked in central Riga in the middle of 2006. The second ever prison sentence for a racially motivated crime was announced in May when two teenagers were sentenced for a racially motivated attack which had taken place against a woman of Brazilian origin in December 2006. One of the teenagers was given a prison sentence. In February, the Prosecutor’s Office of the Riga Regional Court fined a man for publishing racially offensive comments on the Internet. In June, the European Union (EU) sent a formal request to Latvia to implement the EU Racial Equality Directive (2000/43/E), which Latvia has so far failed to do. AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007