On 25 January Riga Regional Court ruled a full acquittal for Saima deputy Juris Jurašs, who is accused of leaking official secrets, as the court confirmed.
The court reviewed the appeal protest submitted by the prosecutor and then lifted the issued by Riga City Vidzeme Suburb Court on 22 June 2021. A new not guilty verdict was composed.
The new verdict is subject to appeal in ten days under cassation order.
Previously Riga Vidzeme Suburb Court declared Jurašs not guilty and added that the details of official charges were not confirmed in the trial investigation. The court did not find confirmation of Jurašs leaking sensitive information and thereby causing damage to the country’s internal or external security.
Additionally, the court did not find the information reported by Jurašs to Ir magazine on 1 October 2015 was acquired through official duties and checked during the initial investigation.
«No inspection of Jurašs’ statement was done during the initial investigation. The official who was handed the aforementioned report did not perform a check of the information stated therein. There was also a lot of contradicting testimonies about the way KNAB had coordinated operational activities, how circulation of documents and other important papers was done and how internal communication is done within the institutions, as well as how control over execution of orders is done,» said Judge Zita Studente.
The court also admitted that Jurašs had the right to provide information about corruption to the journalist, considering it was not acquired through official duties. Additionally, the information that was provided complied with what is stated in the Law on Official Secret,
which states that information regarding the crime level and related statistical information, cases of corruption and illegalities committed by officials cannot be considered official secrets.
All doubts in this case were in favour of the accussed.
The prosecutor, on the other hand, claimed the collected evidence was sufficient and state prosecution’s arguments sufficient for a guilty verdict.
As previously reported, in summer 2016 Jurašs publicly reported having received a bribe offer in exchange for switch of the criminal process involving former LDz manager Uģis Magonis and Estonian businessman Oleg Osinovsky from bribery to trade of influence, which provides for a milder penalty.
More here: Corruption investigator offered million-euro bribe in Magonis-Ossinovski case
Appeal instance court acquits ex-KNAB official Juris Jurašs
