Ainārs Šlesers, chairman of the party Latvija pirmajā vietā (LPV), has called on the Saeima to decide on revoking the citizenship of former Latvian Member of the European Parliament Andrejs Mamikins.
In a post on Facebook accompanied by a video showing Mamikins speaking on the Russian television channel Rossija 1, Šlesers claimed that Mamikins had called on Russia to bomb the Baltic states.
According to Šlesers, with this statement Mamikins has crossed all red lines by calling for the killing of people in the Baltics.
“I call on the Saeima of Latvia to decide on revoking Mamikins’ citizenship! Calling for the bombing of Daugavpils, Rēzekne, Liepāja, Ventspils, Valmiera, Cēsis, Riga and other Latvian cities is a crime!” Šlesers stated.
In June 2024, LETA reported that the International Cooperation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office had issued a European arrest warrant for Mamikins, who is accused of glorifying and justifying war crimes committed by the aggressor state in Ukraine.
In the second half of June 2024, the Prosecutor’s Office decided to initiate criminal prosecution against Mamikins, who had fled to Russia.
The criminal proceedings against him were launched by the Latvia’s State Security Service (VDD) on September 29, 2023, under Section 74.1 of the Criminal Law for justifying genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, and war crimes. The case was initiated after assessing Mamikins’ statements made on several Kremlin-loyal Russian television channels and on social media platforms.
In a September 21, 2023 broadcast of the program “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” on Rossiya 1, Mamikins stated that Russia was “carrying out a mighty, sacred mission in Ukraine.”
The maximum penalty provided for by the Criminal Law for such an offense is imprisonment for up to five years.
The former politician and pro-Kremlin activist fled to Russia and told Kremlin propaganda outlets that he had done so to ensure that his “sons would not have to take part in gay parades.”
Amendments to the Citizenship Law adopted by the Saeima in April 2022 provide for the revocation of Latvian citizenship from a person who has provided significant financial, material, propaganda, technological, or other support to states or individuals who have carried out actions — including genocide, crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, or war crimes — that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence, or constitutional order of democratic states, or if the person has personally participated in such actions, provided that the person would not become stateless as a result of the revocation.
According to information available in LETA’s archives, Mamikins was born in 1976, obtained a master’s degree in philology from the University of Latvia, and worked in journalism for several years.
In 2014, he ran in the European Parliament elections on the list of the social democratic party “Saskaņa” and was elected. In the 2018 Saeima elections, he ran from the Latvian Russian Union list but was not elected to parliament.
In 2021, Mamikins began working at the State Labour Inspectorate as head of strategic communications, but his employment was terminated during a probationary period.