Latvia begins legal proceedings towards an EU Parliament lawmaker suspected of spying for Russia

HELSINKI (AP) — Latvia´s state safety service has began legal proceedings towards an European Parliament lawmaker and a citizen of the Baltic nation who’s suspected of cooperating with Russian intelligence and safety companies, in keeping with Latvian media studies Saturday.

Latvian media retailers reported that the safety service, identified by the abbreviation VDD, has been investigating the actions of Tatjana Ždanoka, 73, and her alleged Russia ties over the previous a number of weeks since studies have been revealed in January by Russian, Nordic and Baltic information websites saying that she has been an agent for the Russian Federal Safety Service, or FSB, since not less than 2004.

In accordance with information company LETA, the Latvian safety service determined to begin a legal course of towards Ždanoka on Feb. 22. The safety service couldn’t instantly be reached for remark. Ždanoka has denied all of the allegations towards her.

The European Parliament stated late January that it had opened an investigation into information studies {that a} Latvian member of the meeting — Ždanoka — has been working as a Russian agent for a number of years. The European Union’s legislative physique, primarily based in Strasbourg, France, stated it was taking the allegations very critically.

Following a joint investigation, the impartial Russian investigative journalism website The Insider, its Latvian equal Re:Baltica, information portal Delfi Estonia, and Swedish newspaper Expressen revealed on Jan. 29 various emails that they stated have been leaked and confirmed Ždanoka’s interactions together with her handler.

Expressen claimed that Ždanoka has been spreading propaganda about alleged violations of the rights of Russians residing in Baltic nations and arguing for a pro-Kremlin coverage, amongst different issues. She has additionally refused to sentence Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the paper stated.

Latvia, a Baltic nation of 1.9 million individuals, and neighboring Estonia, are each house to a large ethnic Russian minority of about 25% of the inhabitants. Each nations are ex-Soviet republics.

Over the previous few years, Moscow has routinely accused Latvia and Estonia of discriminating towards their Russian-speaking populations.

Ždanoka’s resume, which is posted on the European Parliament web site, lists her because the president of the EU Russian-Audio system’ Alliance, a nongovernmental group, since 2007. She was first elected to the European Parliament in 2004.