Five newly elected Saeima deputies face criminal charges that could complicate security clearance

Five newly elected members of Latvia's parliament, the Saeima, face criminal charges that could complicate their obtaining a state secrets clearance, meaning access to classified information. The TV programme "Nekā personīga" reported this on Sunday, 8 November. In the new Saeima, clearance will be required not only for members of the National Security Committee, but also for those serving on the Defence, Interior Affairs and Corruption Prevention committees.

The charged deputies are Ainārs Šlesers, Aivars Kraps and Aleksandrs Bartaševičs of the party "Latvija pirmajā vietā" (Latvia First), Jānis Stērnieks of the United List, and Rūdolfs Brēmanis of "Sovereign Power/United Latvians". (Note: the United List deputy is Jānis Stērninieks.)

Deputies do not plan to seek clearance

Bartaševičs told the programme he would not request clearance because he does not need it. The other charged deputies also do not plan to work on committees that require access to classified information. Šlesers stressed that security institutions should not "engage in politics", while Brēmanis admitted he does not know whether he will need clearance at all.

Saeima must decide on continuing proceedings

For criminal proceedings against deputies to continue, the Saeima must give its consent. Māris Kučinskis, head of the United List faction, believes parliament should not obstruct the proceedings and would not recommend that deputies facing criminal cases serve on committees requiring clearance. Jūlija Stepaņenko, head of the "Sovereign Power/United Latvians" faction, did not reveal how it will vote on continuing proceedings against Brēmanis.

Possible National Security Committee members

The programme found that the factions' representatives on the committee could include Edvards Smiltēns, Ainars Latkovskis, Edmunds Zivtiņš, Andris Šuvajevs, and either Jānis Dombrava or Edvīns Šnore. Only "Sovereign Power/United Latvians" has not yet named a candidate.

The Constitution Protection Bureau, Latvia's security service, said significant risks to obtaining clearance may include regular contacts or trips to Russia, Belarus, other CIS countries and China, providing false information, unclear financial transactions and reputational problems.

Pagors' video from the chamber

The programme also reported that deputy Andrejs Pagors drew attention in his first week by publishing a Russian-language video from the Saeima chamber. The Saeima's Mandate, Ethics and Submissions Committee will assess whether to bar him from one or more sittings.