Three politicians facing criminal charges have been elected to Latvia’s 15th Saeima, and once their mandates are approved, parliament will have to decide whether to consent to the continuation of criminal proceedings against them, LETA has found.
The Saeima Rules of Procedure state that parliament’s consent is also required for the continuation of criminal proceedings in cases where criminal prosecution began before the mandate of a Saeima member was approved.
The Rules of Procedure also stipulate that an MP who has committed a criminal offence is considered expelled from the Saeima from the day a conviction enters into force.
Ainārs Šlesers (LPV), a current Riga City Council member who has been elected to the Saeima, is charged in the so-called second digital television criminal case. Several other people have also been charged in the case, including former Prime Minister Andris Šķēle.
The Supreme Court previously overturned an acquittal handed down by Riga Regional Court in the criminal case and sent the case back to Riga Regional Court for a new hearing.
Rūdolfs Brēmanis (SV/AJ), another current Riga City Council member elected to the Saeima, is accused of defrauding and embezzling 102,721 euros
belonging to the Latvian state during his diplomatic career. The case is still before a court of first instance.
Former Rēzekne mayor Aleksandrs Bartaševičs (Together for Latvia/LPV), who has also been elected to parliament, is facing charges in two separate criminal cases.
The prosecutor’s office recently referred a case to Latgale District Court in which Bartaševičs is accused of exceeding his official authority during the implementation of a recreation centre project in Rēzekne.
Meanwhile, Vidzeme District Court in Gulbene is hearing another criminal case in which Bartaševičs is accused of disclosing restricted-access information and of deliberately failing for 16 years to declare information about property acquired abroad and other substantial income in his public official declarations.