Zakharova: Russia demands a report on the persecution of journalists in Latvia – Politics
MOSCOW, October 28. / TASS /. Moscow demands from the report on the criminal prosecution in Latvia of journalists who collaborated with the Russian media. This was stated on Thursday at a briefing by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.
She recalled that on October 26, the State Security Service (SGB) of Latvia completed the criminal investigation against 14 journalists who collaborated with the Russian media. “Where is the OSCE? Where is the Special Representative for Freedom of Expression? – noted Zakharova. – I would like some kind of intelligible reaction. , is a clear example of the practice of double standards, firmly rooted in the West, when the gross violation of fundamental freedoms is shamelessly hushed up. “
“Despite the clear violation by Riga of international obligations in the field of freedom of speech, pluralism of opinions, there is simply no intelligible reaction from the authorized institutions. There is simply no effort to squeeze out alternative sources of information and do not slow down the general attack on the Russian language,” the diplomat emphasized. …
In early December 2020, the State Security Service of Latvia detained several Russian-speaking journalists. Later, all the detainees were released on recognizance not to leave. In total, from December 2020 to March 2021, seven Latvian journalists collaborating with Russian media were searched in Riga. The official basis for criminal prosecution is violation of the sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation. The journalists cooperate with the Rossiya Segodnya news agency, whose head, Dmitry Kiselev, is under sanctions as an individual.
In mid-April this year, the State Security Service summoned five more local journalists for interrogation to present their potential status, collaborating with the information portal “Sputnik Latvia” and the Russian-language news agency Baltnews. In total, 14 journalists who collaborated with these Russian media outlets were prosecuted by the State Security Service. Their cases were transferred to the prosecutor’s office.