Two racist incidents have taken place in recent weeks in Riga, Latvia. According to a July 16, 2005 article in the local Russian language newspaper Chas, the first of these attacks happened on July 1. An African-American diplomat and his family were accosted by four youths. Yelling racist epithets, the youths followed the diplomat and at one point pushed him, but the incident did not reach the level of a physical assault. Police are investigating the incident and increased their patrols of the downtown area.

On July 21, the same newspaper reported that four Riga residents were arrested for beating an Egyptian the day before. The attackers also used racist language during their assault, but since they also robbed their victim, it is difficult at this stage to determine the exact motive for the assault.

Chas pointed out that in recent months, an Indian cook and a rabbi have been accosted in downtown Riga by assailants who may have been motivated by ethnic hatred.

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