On Tuesday, 19 April, Latvian Saeima’s Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee passed in the second and final reading the urgent amendments to the Citizenship Law. These amendments provide for revoking Latvian citizenship of people who support war crimes or other internationally punished crimes committed against democratic countries.
It is planned that authorities will have the right to revoke a person’s Latvian citizenship if the person provides significant financial, material, propaganda, technological or other kinds of support to countries or persons that are responsible for crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, war crimes (genocide included) and other crimes that undermine a democratic country’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence or constitutional order.
Citizenship will be allowed to be revoked if the person personally participated in the aforementioned activities. It is planned for information regarding a person’s participation in aforementioned crimes will be reported by state security institutions.
It is also planned that in the event of the decision being appealed, it will remain in force until a final ruling is made, as BNN was told by Saeima’s press-service.
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Regulations are needed to ensure Latvian citizenship is not maintained for people who support or are responsible for actions incompatible with Latvia’s values as a democratic country, as well as internationally binding agreements, and is those actions put at risk other democratic countries’ territorial integrity, national security, constitutional order, as mentioned in the annotation to the legislative draft.
It is planned for the law to come to force on the next day after promulgation. Amendments will need to be reviewed by the Saeima in the final reading.
War crime supporters in Latvia to have their citizenship revoked
