Former Mayor of Riga and Latvian MEP Nils Ušakovs has submitted to the Ministry of Justice a request for EUR 5 000 in compensation for unjustified charges against him, as LETA was told by the man himself.
According to him, he has submitted a request to the Ministry of Justice in accordance with the laws of Latvia for compensation for expenses related to legal services. He has also requested a public apology.
As previously reported, Ušakovs received a not guilty verdict in the criminal case regarding the alleged surveillance device found in his office during his term as Mayor of Riga.
In January 2019 Latvian Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) found and confiscated a secret surveillance device in the office of then the Mayor of Riga Nils Ušakovs. The prosecution office presented him with charges in accordance with the section of the Criminal Law regarding the prohibition of the use of specialised equipment.
The prosecution lost in the first and second instance courts. At the end of 2023 prosecutor Juris Ločmelis no longer saw any reason to file a cassation protest. “The court and prosecutor had different opinions about the evidence. Given that the court of cassation instance does not have jurisdiction to examine and evaluate evidence in the case, the prosecutor did not have grounds to file a cassation protest,” the prosecution office told LETA.
The Law on Compensation for Damage Caused in Criminal Proceedings and Administrative Offence Proceedings provides that a natural person has the right to compensation for damage if a not guilty verdict enters into force, and a person is found innocent and acquitted of all charges brought against him or her. The compensation of damages caused by the criminal proceedings are to be covered from the state budget.
In his final word, Ušakovs said this criminal case was necessary only to undermine his reputation and make him look like a criminal. The politician said he had never purchased, kept, or known nothing about the any prohibited device hidden in an album in his office. Instead of looking for the people responsible for bringing the album with the device hidden inside into one of the offices of Riga City Council, investigators simply labelled him a suspect.
In parallel to that, the Prosecutor General’s Office decided to criminally prosecute multiple people over bribery and abuse of official power in relation to discount practices introduced by Riga City Council for municipal public transport company Rīgas mikroautobusu satiksme (RMS) in 2018. Ušakovs and politician Andris Ameriks, who was then the Vice-Mayor of Riga, are both involved in this case.
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Ex-mayor of Riga wants public apology and compensation for moral damage
