Latvian authorities on Thursday reported the arrest on Tuesday of one of their fellow citizens, a journalist with the Russian agency Sputnik, for alleged espionage and violation of sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
The Latvian State Security Service (VDD) has reported that the suspect’s activities had been under surveillance for «a long time». He is a person who works for the Kremlin-owned Sputnik agency and is therefore considered to spread messages in accordance with the interests of the Russian government, including ones that «discredit Latvia and its allies.»
The detainee, VDD notes, holds «a leading position» in this media outlet, as he is in charge of organizing and managing content and returned to Latvia at the end of 2022 after «several years» living and working in Russia.
VDD has stressed that after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this «Kremlin propaganda medium» has been blocked in EU member states for «its justification of military aggression and actions to destabilize the situation in other European countries.»
According to the agency, the detainee is Marat Kasem, editor-in-chief of Sputnik’s delegation in Lithuania, who after a previous court session has been sent to a detention center in Riga, the Latvian capital. The espionage offenses with which he is charged can lead to a 20-year prison sentence.
For her part, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, denounced the arrest as a «revenge» typical of «dictatorial regimes» and reminded Latvia that it is also a violation of its international commitments on freedom of expression.
In January 2020, the VDD already arrested several Latvian citizens for creating content for Sputnik and Baltnews, both belonging to the Rossiya Segodnya media conglomerate, whose director, Dmitri Kiseliov, was sanctioned by the EU for his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his support for the war in Ukraine.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
