Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova assessed the verdict against the Russian-speaking journalist Yuri Alekseev in Latvia. She wrote a commentary on this in her Telegram-channel.
According to Zakharova, the verdict was the result of a process during which the Latvian investigative authorities tried to fabricate a case and send a journalist inconvenient for the local authorities to prison. “It is difficult to believe in these accusations. Otherwise, the prosecuting party would hardly have insisted so zealously on the transfer of court hearings to a regime closed to the press and the public. Here, apparently, the principle itself is important: to plant at any cost, ”she said.
The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that “the practice of restricting freedom of speech and expression of opinion” has become a common thing for Latvia. She recalled that within a week, they brought criminal charges against 14 other Russian-speaking correspondents, and also revoked the license of the First Baltic Channel. “The trend is obvious. As well as the lack of a proper response from the OSCE, ”Zakharova stated.
On October 29, the Pardaugava court of Riga sentenced Yuri Alekseev to a year and two months in prison. He was found guilty under the articles “incitement of ethnic hatred”, “illegal possession of ammunition” and “distribution of child pornography.”
The journalist himself categorically denies these accusations and considers them absurd. He also said that the Latvian authorities are conducting a campaign of intimidation against Russian-speaking journalists who do not obey their instructions.
#Zakharova #assessed #verdict #Russianspeaking #journalist #Latvia
source https://pledgetimes.com/zakharova-assessed-the-verdict-against-a-russian-speaking-journalist-in-latvia/
Disqus comments