Justice Minister Inese Lībiņa-Egnere (New Unity), commenting on the statement made by Prosecutor General Juris Stukāns in an interview with weekly paper Ieva, stated in an interview on TV3 news program 900 sekundes that if a submission is received, the institution must respond.
Commenting on Stukāns’ statements, Lībiņa-Egnere emphasized that the main thing is that when a person applies to the institution with a request, it does not matter whether the request is perfect, they must respond and help.
She reminded that on the 16th of June, the Council of Justice will consider the request of the Council of Latvian Sworn Advocates (ZAP) (LZAP) to conduct an examination of Stukāns’ accusations against the lawyer of murdered woman.
The minister explained that additional information will be obtained by Friday,
and what the lawyers have indicated will be evaluated, not only Stukāns’ statements.
It is very important that people feel safe and protected, emphasized the Justice Minister, adding that help must be provided when it is needed, one can’t simply discard an application as unrelevant.
In an interview with the magazine Ieva,
Stukāns stated that the lawyer of the woman killed in Jēkabpils didn’t do enough
to seek the possibilities for the woman’s protection.
In response to these statements, ZAP has decided to turn to the Council of Justice and call for an investigation into the accusations made by the Prosecutor General against the lawyer. After going through all the legal procedures, in such an investigation can theoretucally end with the dismissal of the Prosecutor General.
On the 16th of April, a woman was killed in Jēkabpils region in front of her child and mother. The murder was committed by her ex-husband Rusiņš, who threatened and harassed the woman for months, this was regularly reported to the police, but the woman was not protected.
In the specific situation,
the person had 19 criminal proceedings, 18 of which – for violating the ruling on protection
against violence.
The police have so far failed to arrest Rusiņš after the murder.
Read also: Lawyers to ask for evaluation of the actions of the Prosecutor General