On the 4th of December, Riga City Court sentenced pro-Kremlin activist Jeļena Kreile to a one-year prison sentence for publishing symbols glorifying USSR in the windows of her home.
The ruling has yet to come into force and is subject to appeal at Riga Regional Court.
Kreile had placed a cloth in the colour of the US flag in the windows and a photo of two people in uniforms “similar to the USSR army”, as well as a picture similar to the USSR flag in the background.
There are at least two more criminal cases against Kreilis in review. Previously, in another case, the court of first instance sentenced Kreile to three years in prison for placing Russian symbols and other war-glorifying symbols in the windows of her home. However, the ruling in that case did not go into force, as it was appealed, and now the case must be heard in the Riga Regional Court.
In another criminal case, the Riga City Court sentenced Kreile to a suspended one-year prison term for the glorification of genocide, crimes against humanity, crime against peace, and war crimes. The verdict was appealed, and the district court changed Kreile’s suspended prison sentence to a real prison sentence. The judgment will still be subject to appeal at the Supreme Court.
As previously reported, Kreile has worn a shoulder bag with the symbol “Z” in public places and public events many times. This symbol is used in Russian propaganda resources as a symbol of support for the Russia war against Ukraine.
She also expressed her support for the aggressor state outside the Russian embassy in Riga at the time of the anti-Russian war protest. She has also regularly carried out other provocative actions aimed at glorifying and justifying Russian aggression.
The Baltic Center for Investigative Journalism “Re:Baltica” previously reported that Kreile is a housewife who was born and raised in Latvia, but knows almost no Latvian language. The protester in her woke up during the Covid-19 pandemic, when a vaccination certificate requirement for entering stores was implemented. Then the first clashes with law enforcement began, which culminated after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The woman repeated to journalists that she did not stand for war or for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kreile does not admit guilt in any of the cases, but believes that she is being targeted because “evil forces are targeting the good, they are demons”.