In January, a new structural unit was established within Latvia’s Prosecutor General’s Office – the State Security Protection Department, Prosecutor General Armīns Meisters told members of the Saeima’s Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee on Tuesday.
Meisters reminded MPs that upon taking office he had publicly stated that issues related to the protection of state security needed to be elevated to the highest possible level.
Accordingly, a new department has now been created within the Prosecutor General’s Office. It is planned that these changes will not affect existing prosecutors. At present, a recruitment process has begun to appoint the department’s chief prosecutor and five prosecutors.
As Meisters explained, the creation of such a department demonstrates a clear commitment to addressing state security protection issues at the level of the Prosecutor General’s Office, rather than at the level of regional prosecutor’s offices.
At the same time, discussions have concluded that state security protection, in the traditional sense, will not be limited solely to combating crimes such as espionage, hate speech, terrorism-related threats or border violations.
The Prosecutor’s Office interprets state security protection more broadly,
encompassing high-level corruption risks, crimes committed by senior officials, and economic security. As a result, cases falling into these categories will henceforth fall under the jurisdiction of this new department, Meisters noted.
However, not every such case will automatically be handled by the department. Decisions on case jurisdiction will be made by Meisters himself, following consultations with state security and investigative authorities.
“The establishment of such a structural unit is a positive signal both to the domestic public and to our international partners,” Meisters added.
Read also: Police in Latvia are struggling not because of pay, but because of the system – SAO delivers a harsh verdict