Riga court sentences woman to three years in prison for glorifying Russian war crimes

The Riga City Court on Tuesday, 10 November, sentenced Tatjana Masenko to three years in prison for publicly glorifying war crimes committed by Russia's armed forces in Ukraine. In addition to the custodial sentence, she was given two years of probation supervision. For this offence, Latvian law provides for up to six years of imprisonment and up to three years of probation supervision.

According to the prosecution, between April and July 2024 Masenko posted several videos on TikTok with Russian-language commentary, accessible to an unlimited audience. Prosecutors argue that she thereby knowingly glorified and justified the war crimes.

Court arguments

Prosecutor Roberts Urdziņš asked the court to impose exactly the sentence that was ultimately handed down. He said the defendant did not deny publishing the videos and confirmed they were posted from her profile. He acknowledged that Masenko has no previous convictions and that her character is not marked by negative traits, but said that, given the content of the videos, a custodial sentence was warranted. He also rejected the defence claim that she did not understand the significance of her posts: more than 20 publications were established in the case, and he said there were even more similar posts than those listed in the indictment.

Defence lawyer Oskars Ondrups argued that the woman used the platform thoughtlessly and frivolously, wanting to stand out, rather than to support Russian aggression or influence others. He asked the court to acquit her.

In her final statement, Masenko expressed remorse, stressing that she did not publish the videos to glorify war crimes. She denied expressing her own opinion or promoting any ideology, said she is a Latvian citizen and does not travel to Russia or Belarus. By her account, she has already spent four months in pre-trial detention and believes she has served her sentence. She said she was arrested immediately after being questioned by the State Security Service.

What happens next

After the verdict, Ondrups told journalists he will appeal because he considers the sentence disproportionate. The defendant herself expressed regret over the sentence. Participants in the proceedings can request the full judgment within ten days of its announcement, and the appeal period is ten working days.