A gay man in Latvia has died following injuries he sustained after being set alight. Authorities are now investigating the circumstance surrounding his death.
Normunds Kindzulis, 29, was a paramedic. He lived around 70km west of Latvia’s capital, Riga, in the quiet town of Tukums.
In the early hours of 23 April, a colleague and roommate, Artis Jaunklavin, says he found Kindzulis outside their flat, “burning like a torch.”
“I tried to put out the flames, I carried him and put him in the bathtub, but the burns were too severe, his toasted clothes were embedded in the skin.”
Kindzulis had previously been threatened several times because of his sexuality by a neighbor in his block. He had been attacked at least four times in the past.
“We reported these threats to both the police and the neighbor’s workplace, but there was no reaction,” Jaunklavin said. “We had to wait for someone to be mutilated or killed.”
Both Kindzulis and Jaunklavin were taken to hospital. Kindzulis had burns to 85% of his body, while Jaunklavin sustained injuries in trying to put out the flames. Kindzulis’ clothes had been doused in a flammable liquid.
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On April 28, it was confirmed that Kindzulis had died as a result of his injuries. His death, following a history of homophobic threats, has shocked the country. Some local activists think he may have been the victim of a hate attack.
Normunds Kindzulis, a victim of the homophobic arson attack in Latvia last week, has succumbed to his injuries. Our deepest condolences to his partner and family, and to all our community in Latvia. 🖤 pic.twitter.com/IM90oTk80E
— EuroPride • EPOA (@EuroPride) April 28, 2021
The European Pride Organisers Association tweeted, “Normunds Kindzulis, a victim of the homophobic arson attack in Latvia last week, has succumbed to his injuries. Our deepest condolences to his partner and family, and to all our community in Latvia.”
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It’s been reported that local police were initially reluctant to investigate the incident as a hate crime. They said they did not rule out suicide, with the Deputy Chief of the Latvia police, Andrejs Grishins, telling reporters last Thursday that, “Driving someone to the verge of suicide is also a crime.”
Naidam Latvijā nav vietas. Ja apstiprināsies, ka Tukuma noziedznieka motivācija ir bijusi naids pret kādu sabiedrības daļu, tad tas pastiprina viņa vainu. Latvijas sabiedrības vērtība ir iecietība, un šāda naida izpausme vienlaikus ir noziegums pret sabiedrību.
— Egils Levits (@valstsgriba) April 24, 2021
Latvian president Egils Levits tweeted, “There is no place for hate in Latvia. If it is confirmed that the motivation of the Tukums criminal was hatred of a part of the society, then it increases his guilt. The value of Latvian society is tolerance, and such an expression of hatred is at the same time a crime against society.”
Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said the “heinous crime” should be “thoroughly investigated.”
Latvia lag behind other parts of Europe when it comes to LGBTQ rights. The annual Pride march in Riga is often met with far-right counter-protests. There is no legal recognition of same-sex couples, and earlier this year, the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, voted overwhelmingly to amend its constitution to define the family strictly as a “union of a male and female person.”
Related: Gay janitor claims he was fired for reporting homophobic abuse
Chrisk
Let’s see. He was getting repeated threats and violence from the neighbors and the Police might think this was suicide? If that’s not a thumbs up to the criminal thugs that did this I don’t know what else is.
Apparently, this isn’t the first time. Last year 2 other gay men were set on fire. The harassment before was reported to the Police but they refused to act.
h ttps://www.out.com/news/2021/4/28/two-gay-men-set-fire-horrific-hate-crime
Also being that it’s Eastern Europe I’m not exactly surprised.
LumpyPillows
Horrific. I somehow expected more from Latvia.
frankcar1965
All of eastern Europe is a flithy Shiit hole. They all need to be burned alive just like they did to him. Most of their women are prostitutes, that’s the only way they can make money.
LumpyPillows
Wow, I think you have a problem.
Leash
Chrisk the article you linked is about the same story.
They don’t rule out suicide or an accident because according to a program on the public broadcaster LTV he was on trial for five different cases of arson in Riga.
Since the trial will not continue because of Kindzulis’ death, the presumption of innocence continues to apply, LTV said. However, the broadcaster quoted the prosecutor in charge who said that that he had confessed to the acts and that they planned to ask the court to admit him to a clinic after the result of a report on his mental state.
His roommate also stated that Jaunklavinš had been attacked on the same day, Thursday afternoon, in the stairwell by two men, against whom he had been able to defend himself. The fire occurred after his return from the night shift.
Yeah that sounds like obvious cover-up to me. Suddendly he is supposed to be this psycho pyromaniac?
Can a prosecutor just do that? Talk about an open case and say that he apparently confessed? We know nothing about those five cases or arson, when they happened, or what was set on fire. We only know that no one was injured, that it was just property damage.
But are we seriously to believe that he either a) came home from work after a long exhausting shift at the clinic and decided to light something on fire, and kind of accidentaly light himself on fire, near his own house? or that b) he decided to kill himself by lighting himself on fire? (who does that, who that is suicidal chooses THAT way to go??)
Yeah I have zero hope that the police, being criticized for not having followed up on the repeated death threats, hostility, etc., have any interest in clearing up the case.
Chrisk
Oh wow I screwed that up. I guess the friend was the other burn victim since he tried to put the flames out on him.
Seems too convenient that the alleged arson case has been dropped and the prosecutor said he confessed and basically made him sound like he’s totally nuts. Yet his friend tells a completely different story of ongoing harassment and Police indifference.
Yeah, there’s no way this is a suicide and as far as the arson goes no effin way you would do it right next to your house.
Seems really way too convenient. Like someone is coming up with a backstory to explain all this away.
Doug
No mention here whatsoever if they arrested the people who did this. This is yet another outrageous homophobic crime in another foreign country. When are people going to answer for these incidents? Russia, Poland, Indonesia, Egypt, Nigeria… this has to stop.
frankcar1965
They dont want to stop, they’re savage animals. Sewer pits of the earth.
mark2029
Why is it never the drug dealers injecting kids with meth to kill them for life insurance
Cam
Hopefully this will help move Latvia in the right direction. That poor man and his family. People can be real monsters.
Vince
I can’t even imagine the hate that’s required to burn someone alive. A slow and horrifically painful way to go. Someone who’s done nothing to you. You are absolutely a sick animal that needs to be put down.
Hopefully with this exposure they’ll put enough pressure on the police to do their job.
John
Just thinking of how painful his death must have been makes me sick to my stomach. I can’t imagine how scared he must of been. It makes me so angry. I don’t understand how anyone could do this to another human being for just living their life.
Leash
“A slow and horrifically painful way to go.” excately! 2 weeks later the police still didn’t find any clues that it was a hate crime, they still investigate it to be a suicide. How f’d up is that?
corktownboy
What a sweet guy.
A disgustingly horrible death: totally barbaric, unreal.
Rest in Power, sweet soul.
SFMike
This is the kind of “justice” one expects from a Christian country of high moral values.
enlightenone
Gays, no! Monsters, okay? Monsters on the loose! Sick, sick, sick…
CityguyUSA
I’m so sorry that this is anyone’s fate in any country. Some parents raise their children to be sociopaths.