Russian nationals, detained in Latvia, face 20 years in prison

A court in Riga, capital of Latvia, has started hearings in connection with the case of 3 Russian nationals accused of terrorism. They call themselves “national Bolsheviks.” On November 17th last year, they illegally entered Latvia and occupied the inspection gallery of the Saint Peter’s Cathedral in Riga. They hanged out a red flag and shouted out anti-NATO slogans, threatening to blow themselves up. After a 2-hour demonstration they surrender to the police. Yesterday, 16 representatives of the National Bolshevik Party picketed the Latvian Embassy in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv chanting “Our MiGs (meaning fighter aircrafts) will land in Riga.” They burnt the Latvian president’s dummy and tried to fill the embassy’s wall with graffiti. Several activists were detained by police, but soon released. As for the young radicals arrested in Riga, they will hardly manage to get away with it. The Latvian anti-terrorism law envisages 15-20 years in prison or even life imprisonment for such offences. It looks like the Latvian authorities, noted for their anti-Russian leanings, will not hesitate to “reward” the offenders in full. Under different circumstances, the youngsters’ escapade might as well be qualified as just hooliganism.

SERGEI STEPHANOV