The Zemgale District Court has sentenced a resident of Jelgava to two and a half years of probation supervision for publicly glorifying Russian aggression, reports Latvijas Avīze.
In addition, the resident of Jelgava was ordered to pay procedural costs of 136 euros to the state — reimbursement for legal assistance provided by a state defender. The sentence can still be appealed.
The indictment states that on February 27, 2022, just three days after the start of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces, the man published an image on his Facebook profile depicting the territory of Ukraine as occupied by Russia. The image was accompanied by a caption in Russian: "Būs labi arī tā" ("And it will be good this way"). In the comments section, the man wrote: "I am for the Russians."
This image remained on his social media profile for three years — until March 11, 2025.
Additionally, in August 2024, during the day, the man performed the Russian national anthem in the courtyard of an apartment building and shouted the slogan "Russia, forward!" in Russian several times.
Through his actions, the man committed crimes as defined in part one of Article 74 of the Criminal Law — "justification of genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, and war crimes." This is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years or short-term imprisonment, or probation supervision, or community service, or a fine.
The accused fully admitted his guilt and expressed remorse, reports Latvijas Avīze.
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