Riga Regional Court has decided to maintain in force the ruling of a court of first instance with which Marats Kasems, who is suspected of cooperating with Kremlin’s propaganda resources, was put under arrest.
On Wednesday, the 18th of January, Kasems asked the court to be released on bail. The court rejected this request.
The ruling of Riga Regional Court is not subject to appeal.
Kasems was detained by the State Security Service (VVD) on the 3rd of January. The court later put him under arrest. According to the law, an arrest as a security measure is reserved only if there are justified suspicions that a bail cannot guarantee the suspect will not commit more crimes, try to flee or interfere with the investigation.
VDD previously reported that a Latvian citizen was detained on suspicions of cooperating with a Kremlin propaganda resource under EU sanctions. The criminal procedure was commenced over violation of EU sanctions. VDD reports having followed this Latvian citizen’s activities for a long time. The person is employed in one of information resources used by Russia Today, which is controlled by the Kremlin. This resource is believed to spread opinions that are in line with Kremlin’s interests, including information that discredits Latvia and its allies, VDD stresses.
Following the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin’s propaganda resource was blocked in EU member states. The detained Latvian citizen had a managing role in this information resource. He organised and managed content creation. The person lived and worked in Russia for many years, but moved to Latvia at the end of 2022.
VDD reports that it is prohibited to provide financial and economic resources to companies subjected to sanctions.
Kasems was the editor of Russian propaganda portal Sputnik Lithuania. As a journalist of Russia Today he ran in Saeima elections in 2018 as a member of the political party union For Alternative but was later expelled from Harmony for insulting voters.
Also read: Latvian authorities detain systematic distributor of Russian propaganda