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Estonia

Hate Crimes (in progress)

The following overview of hate crimes legislation is based on information submitted directly to the ODIHR by Estonia during the course of 2004-2005. While, in some instances, the wording of the legislation may appear unclear, it has not been changed from its original form.

On the basis of this structure, ODIHR enourages pS to submit relevant information to fill in any gaps.

Legislation is constantly updated, and therefore the provisions cited are subject to change. The term racist is illustrative and does not exclude other bias types. The use of "Article", "Section", or § refers to parts of the respective Criminal Code.

International crimes [1]	§611(1) Genocide and crimes against humanity
Incitement to hatred / Dissemination of racist ideas [2]	§ 151. Incitement to social hatred Activities which publicly incite to hatred or violence on the basis of nationality, race, colour, sex, language, origin, religion, political opinion, financial or social status are punishable by a pecuniary punishment or up to 3 years’ imprisonment.
Holocaust denial [3]
Personal violence
Destruction of property
Civil rights violations	§ 152. Violation of equality Unlawful restriction of the rights of a person or granting of unlawful preferences to a person on the basis of his or her nationality, race, colour, sex, language, origin, religion, political opinion, financial or social status is punishable by a pecuniary punishment or up to one year of imprisonment. § 153. Discrimination based on genetic risks Unlawful restriction of the rights of a person or granting of unlawful preferences to a person on the basis of his or her genetic risks is punishable by a pecuniary punishment or up to one year of imprisonment. § 154. Violation of freedom of religion A person who interferes with the religious affiliation or religious practices of a person, unless the religious affiliation or practices are detrimental to the morals, rights or health of other people or violate public order, shall be punished by a pecuniary punishment or up to one year of imprisonment. § 155. Compelling person to join or retain membership of religious association Compelling a person to join or be a member of a religious association is punishable by a pecuniary punishment or up to one year of imprisonment.
Racist organizations [4]
Racist cyber-crime
Aggravating circumstances	There is no scope for racist motivation to be taken into account by the courts as an aggravating circumstance when sentencing.
Bias types [5]	Nationality, race, colour, sex, language, origin, religion, political opinion, financial or social status.

[1] Relevant international crimes include genocide, apartheid, slavery and persecution.

[2] Includes (public) incitement to racial discrimination, violence or hatred; (public) dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred; (public) insults and threats.

[3] Includes public denial or gross trivialization of international crimes, especially genocide/the Holocaust.

[4] Includes creation, support, participation.

[5] Includes bias types referred to in definitions of crimes and as aggravating factors, but excludes crimes based on denying equality of citizens, which tend to encompass broader grounds for discrimination.

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