08.03.2019, Riga.
Former deputy of the European Parliament Tatjana Ždanoka faces criminal prosecution in Latvia for criticizing the country’s policy in respect of the Russian and Russian-speaking residents, Delfi portal reported on March 6.
Criminal proceedings against Tatjana Ždanoka began on March 5th. She is being accused of inciting ethnic hatred. Speaking at the European Parliament during a discussion on Political Persecution in the Baltic States, Ždanoka said, “We have come to the conclusion that Russians and Russian-speaking people (in Latvia) at present face the same situation as Jews before World War II. We are being punished.”
Latvian European Parliament member Inese Vaidere filed a complaint at the Latvian State Security Service, who determined the statement to be incitement of ethnic hatred.
Russian and Russian-speaking residents in Latvia are the republic’s largest ethnic minority, they make up about 20 percent of the country’s total population. Many of the Russian and Russian-speaking residents of the republic are not citizens of the country.
Tatjana Ždanoka expressed her opinion regarding nation states at the conference of the “Sophia” Сlub dedicated to the centenary of the Great October Revolution: “Nation states, in my opinion are long gone and remain in the 19th century. … But in Latvia, half of the Russian-speaking population, in addition, is deprived of citizenship, and accordingly, civil rights, starting with the right to participate in elections.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
