Riga City Court on Tuesday sentenced Tatjana Masenko to three years in prison for glorifying war crimes committed by the Russian armed forces against Ukraine.
The defendant was also sentenced to two years of probation supervision. Prosecutor Roberts Urdziņš had requested the same punishment during closing arguments.
The parties to the proceedings will be able to request the full court judgment within ten days of its announcement. The judgment may be appealed within ten working days.
The defendant’s lawyer, Oskars Ondrups, told journalists that he would appeal the ruling because he considered the sentence disproportionate. Masenko herself expressed regret over the punishment imposed.
During closing arguments, the prosecutor noted that the defendant had not denied publishing the videos and had acknowledged that they were posted from her TikTok account.
Urdziņš explained that
although Masenko had no previous convictions and there were no negative characteristics associated with her personality, he believed that the content of the videos cited in the indictment warranted a custodial sentence.
The defence lawyer, meanwhile, argued that Masenko had used TikTok thoughtlessly and irresponsibly, seeking public attention rather than intending to express support for Russian aggression or influence other people.
Ondrups stated that Masenko regretted her actions and asked the court to acquit her.
The prosecutor rejected the defence’s argument that the defendant had not understood the significance of her publications.
He pointed out that more than 20 posts had been identified in the case and that there had been even more posts of a similar nature than those included in the indictment.
In her final statement, Masenko expressed remorse for her actions, emphasising that she had not published the videos with the intention of glorifying war crimes or influencing other people.
She acknowledged that she should not have acted in this way but denied that she had been expressing her personal views or promoting any ideology.
Masenko also stressed that she is a Latvian citizen, does not travel to Russia or Belarus, and does not want her actions to create the impression that she supports war crimes.
She stated that she had already spent four months in detention and believed that she had served her punishment.
According to the defendant, she was detained immediately after being questioned by the State Security Service (VDD).
As previously reported, between April and July 2024, Masenko published several videos on TikTok accompanied by comments in Russian.
The videos were accessible to an unlimited audience and, according to the prosecution, deliberately and publicly glorified and justified war crimes committed by the Russian armed forces against Ukraine.
The Prosecutor’s Office previously stated that such an offence carries a maximum penalty of six years’ imprisonment and up to three years of probation supervision.