Around 30 participants from law enforcement and prosecutors across different European countries attended a two-day workshop in Malta to start developing a practical manual on effective investigation and prosecution of criminalised hate speech.
The workshop provided the space and opportunity to actively participate and contribute with knowledge and firsthand experience in the recognising, investigating and prosecuting criminalised hate speech.
The event took place between 28-29 April 2026 and was organised by the Human Rights Directorate of Malta and the Council of Europe, funded by the EEA and Norway Grants and by the European Commission, under its EU High Level Group on combating hate speech and hate crime.
Through case studies and country examples, round table and group discussions, participants coming from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania and Spain strengthened their understanding of criminalised hate speech, learned from each other and shared insightful practices, challenges and needs that will feed into the manual currently under development by the Council of Europe. The main reference point for this endeavour is the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers on combating hate speech CM/Rec(2022)16. The workshop reinforced the importance of multistakeholder co-operation in identifying and implementing measures to prevent and combat hate speech, to promote a culture of inclusiveness and to help those targeted by hate speech to assert their rights.
On the second day of the workshop, participants were also challenged with a specific case of identifying perpetrators of online hate speech: what to do, for example, when a social media platform refuses to co-operate and restricts access to the perpetrator’s personal data? How can law enforcement and prosecutors overcome these challenges?
The development of the manual on effective investigation and prosecution of criminalised hate speech will now continue within the framework of the Mission-Driven Initiative “Enhancing multi-stakeholder responses to hate speech and hate crime”, funded by the EEA and Norway Grants, with the idea to further develop pilot training tailored to national context and involving the 15 Beneficiary States of the EEA and Norway Grants, as well as the three Donor States.
Council of Europe (Inclusion and Anti-discrimination newsroom): All Hands on Deck for the Development of a Manual on Effective Investigation and Prosecution of Criminalised Hate Speech
Council of Europe: Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)16 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on combating hate speech