Court upholds detention of former Riga councillor Rosļikovs
A Riga court has kept in force the pre-trial detention order against former Riga city councillor Aleksejs Rosļikovs, who is currently in Belarus. He is wanted in a criminal case over incitement of ethnic hatred.
The Riga City Court ruled on Tuesday not to lift the detention order imposed on former Riga city council member Aleksejs Rosļikovs. His absence from Latvia while staying in Belarus does not change the court's earlier decision on this security measure.
The detention was ordered earlier after prosecutor Kaspars Andruškins requested it during a hearing in a criminal case in which Rosļikovs is charged with inciting national and ethnic hatred. Since he did not appear in court, judges declared him wanted and suspended proceedings until he is located.
Rosļikovs has confirmed he is in Belarus, saying he stayed away out of fear for his life after receiving phone threats, including a threat to behead him. He said the State Security Service had offered him six months in a safe house, but he declined, not wanting to wait for the threats to be carried out. Rosļikovs maintains the case against him is politically motivated.
Plans to return after the election
Svetlana Čulkova, chairwoman of the board of the "Stability" party, said earlier that Rosļikovs intends to return to Latvia on October 4, after the autumn Saeima elections, to resume his political work. He is running second on the party's list in Riga for the upcoming vote. Asked whether he would return even if the party fails to enter parliament, Čulkova gave no clear answer.
In late May, the Riga City Council revoked Rosļikovs' mandate as councillor because he had missed more than half of council sittings over three months. Earlier this year, several other lawmakers left "Stability," causing its Saeima faction to dissolve; the remaining members now sit as four independent MPs.
