Valērijs Lazarevs, the spouse of the former policewoman, was convicted to two years of a suspended prison sentence with a two-year probationary period for the attack on the young man with the Ukrainian flag, confirmed the lawyer of the victim.
At the moment, the full verdict of the court is expected. Egons Rusanovs, the lawyer of the victim, believes that the sentence is “too mild”, so it will be appealed, because “the sentence should have been such that [Lazarevs] would rethink his actions”.
The lawyer did not personally participate in the court hearing, but he was informed about what was happening at the hearing. He expressed his surprise that Lazarevs had not apologized to the victim and that he had approached the lawyer’s office with accusations that it was using this case to gain popularity.
It has already been reported that the prosecutor Herta Miķelsone asked the accused to be sentenced to a suspended prison sentence of two years, as well as probation supervision.
Previously, the prosecutor’s office failed to agree on a new sentence with the defendant for the attack, so the case was sent to court. Initially, last summer, the prosecutor’s office imposed 200 hours of community service on Lazarevs for the attack on the young man. It was possible to reach such an agreement because the accused admitted his guilt and paid the compensation for the moral damage demanded by the victim.
However, the young man’s lawyer appealed the prosecutor’s decision, the General Prosecutor’s Office canceled the prosecutor’s decision on the mentioned punishment, and the criminal proceedings were renewed.
The prosecutor’s office informed that at the end of May 2022, the accused, driven by national hatred and hooliganism, brazenly and blatantly attacked a young man who had a Ukrainian flag wrapped around his shoulders, causing him “minor bodily injuries”.
The accused, being in a public place, in the presence of at least five people, ignoring the general behavior norms, “deliberately expressed cynical disparagement of the young man’s interests, that is, showing support for Ukraine.” After performing these actions, the accused left the scene.
The victim
applied for compensation for monetary and moral damage in the amount of 6034 euros.
which the defendant has reimbursed in full.
It has already been reported that on the 20th of May, 2022, a march “For Liberation from the Soviet Legacy” took place from the Freedom Monument to Victory Park in Pārdaugava. After the march near the venue, on Eduarda Smilģa Street, a BMW driver got out of his vehicle and injured a young man born in 2003 who had a Ukrainian flag wrapped around his shoulders.
After the incident, the car drove away from the scene, but it was established that the attacker was a man born in 1984, who had already attracted the attention of the police. The police found the car in the yard of a private estate. The license plates of the car had been changed so that the perpetrator could hide his location. The attacker himself was hiding behind the chimney in the attic of his residence.
A police officer was in the car next to the attacker at the time of the attack. She was charged with inaction in another case. [The media reports that she justified it with her poor eyesight.] The policewoman has retired from service, and the Riga City Court in the suburb of Vidzeme will continue to consider her case on the 12th of September.