16 Jun, 10:11

MP advocating for Russian language rights arrested in Latvia — opposition

On June 9, Latvia’s State Security Service opened a criminal case against Roslikov, accusing him of "assisting Russia" and "inciting national hatred"

VILNIUS, June 16. /TASS/. Latvian authorities have detained former parliament member and current Riga City Council deputy Alexey Roslikov from the Stability Party, known for speaking out in support of Russian language rights.

"Alexey Roslikov was detained this morning and taken away. I will provide updates," Stability Party MP Svetlana Chulkova announced on Roslikov’s Telegram channel.

On June 5, Latvian public broadcaster LSM reported that the Latvian parliament (Saeima) expelled Roslikov from the parliamentary session for saying "the Russian language is our language!" in Russian. This occurred during the consideration of a draft declaration on removing the "linguistic consequences" of the purported "Russification" of Latvia during Soviet times. Roslikov spoke against including this draft decision in the agenda, emphasizing that Russians comprise a significant part of the country’s population. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Saeima’s negative reaction to Roslikov’s statements was quite predictable.

On June 9, Latvia’s State Security Service opened a criminal case against Roslikov, accusing him of "assisting Russia" and "inciting national hatred."

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