Gapoņenko's Lawyer Appeals 10-Year Prison Sentence
The defense lawyer for pro-Kremlin activist Aleksandrs Gapoņenko has filed an appeal against the first-instance court verdict sentencing him to 10 years in prison for aiding a foreign country and inciting ethnic hatred.
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Imma Jansone, the lawyer representing pro-Kremlin activist Aleksandrs Gapoņenko, has submitted an appeal against the verdict handed down by the Riga District Court in January. The court sentenced Gapoņenko to ten years' imprisonment and three years of probationary supervision. He was found guilty of providing assistance to a foreign country in activities directed against Latvia and of inciting national hatred and discord.
The prosecution stated that it is satisfied with the verdict, considering it justified and lawful. During the trial, the prosecutor had requested exactly that sentence. Jansone had previously indicated that she would appeal after receiving the full text of the verdict.
Gapoņenko has been held in Riga Central Prison since February 14, 2025, under pretrial detention. He does not admit his guilt.
According to the case materials, the charges stem from February 2025, when Gapoņenko remotely participated in a public discussion organized by the "Institute of CIS Countries" in Moscow titled "Genocide of Russian compatriots in the Baltic states." During the discussion, he expressed support for Russia's aggressive diaspora policy and disseminated false claims, including allegations of persecution of Russians, a ban on the Russian language, and closure of Russian-language schools in Latvia, which he described as ethnocide. The prosecution argues that this behavior advanced Russia's geopolitical interests and threatened Latvia's independence and security.
Furthermore, the prosecution notes that Gapoņenko called for preparing for a Russian invasion of the Baltic states as a solution to the alleged ethnocide. He appeared alongside other Latvian nationals, against whom proceedings have been separated, including wanted former Riga City Council deputy Ruslans Pankratov, Romans Samuļs, former MEP Andrejs Mamikins, and Sergejs Vasiļjevs.
Gapoņenko, born in 1954, has a prior criminal record for similar offenses. In 2022, the Supreme Court upheld a previous verdict finding him guilty of inciting national hatred and anti-Latvian activity, for which he received a suspended sentence.
