People in Latvian KGB files want to clear their names

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Since the first batch of Latvia's KGB documents were published on the Internet, a number of individuals have turned to courts, wishing to prove that they did not collaborate with the KGB, the Court Administration of Latvia representative Inara Makarova told the LETA newswire December 27.

A "comparatively high number of residents" have turned to courts since last Thursday, when the first KGB files were published online, in order to prove that they had not collaborated with the KGB, explained Makarova, without giving a specific figure.

She also said that a court could not consider such issues without the assembly of a legal case and people should turn to the prosecutor's office first.

Una Reke, public relations officer at the Prosecutor General's Office, told LETA that the prosecutor's office had received no such petitions thus far.

As reported, part of the Latvian archive of the former Soviet secret service KGB was made available to the public at kgb.arhivi.lv.on December 20.

This year's publication of KGB files takes the form of a virtual exhibition made up of KGB documents and explanatory notes. The published documents include phone catalogs listing KGB employees, and a card index, listing outside contacts.

However, extensive international media coverage has in several cases simplified the status of the documents, giving the impression in some cases that being mentioned in the records is proof of collaboration. This is not automatically the case.

Starting from May 1, 2019, also other KGB documents will be published.

You can read more about the opening of the KGB archive in our previous stories on the subject.

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