The response of police officers towards the people who participated in the protest organised by Saeima deputy Aldis Gobzems outside Riga Castle on 13 December was too gentle, said Latvia’s Prosecutor General Juris Stukāns in an interview to TV24 programme Dienas personība on Wednesday, 15 December.
Authorities could have commenced an administrative process against every single person who had intentionally breached epidemiological safety restrictions, said the prosecutor. He added that he would not have left any one of those people to the square and that he would have closed down all streets, set up police posts and prohibited people from gathering.
Read also: Police detain 16 people for different violations during Gobzems’ «event» in Riga
«Although Riga City Council did not ok the protest, people still came. It’s unfortunate that only 14 administrative violation procedures have been commenced,» said the prosecutor general.
When asked how he would describe this protest from the perspective of democracy, Juris Stukāns said «it is nothing more than intentional attempt at overthrowing the established order, because no one prohibits meetings and pickets when there are no health risks».
He believes organisers of this protest should have waited for the state of emergency to end: «By all means go out in February! Otherwise there will be anarchy and chaos!»
The prosecutor general also stressed that vaccination is the only way to overcome the epidemic. He said he is sad for the people who will lose their jobs because they did not vaccinate. When asked what he would recommend they do, Stukāns said: «Go clear the ice!»
Prosecutor on Gobzems’ protest: police were too gentle towards protesters
