
Crime


Latvian Radio's investigative strand 'Open Files' on May 18 included a report on a company registered in Latvia, asking if it had been directly or indirectly involved in providing support to the Russian military.

It's been a month since Leons Rusiņš allegedly murdered his ex-partner in front of her mother and child near Jēkabpils. The lawyer for the killed woman presumes that the family could turn to court against the state for what happened, Latvian Television reported on May 16.

Latvia's Corruption Combating and Prevention Bureau (KNAB) has published an English-language version of a corruption-spotting handbook it published in Latvian in 2022.

The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has penalized five high-ranking Foreign Ministry officials for handing out monetary awards to themselves, according to information on the Bureau's home page, LETA reported.

Next week, it will be a month since the brutal killing in the Jēkabpils municipality, where a woman was killed in front of her mother and child after years of stalking. The murder suspect, 53-year-old Leons Rusiņš, has still not been found, and the residents of the area feel uncomfortable, Latvian Television reported on May 13.

An appalling recent murder in Jēkabpils has brought the issues of stalking and the homicides of women into sharp focus in Latvia. Figures published by Eurostat May 11 underline the scale of Latvia's problem.

The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) is asking for the prosecution of five individuals for causing losses of more than €10 million to Rīga municipality and its capital company, LETA and Latvian Television reported on May 11.

The Internal Security Bureau (IDB) has sent a case for prosecution against two Daugavpils municipal police officials who are alleged to have abused their position of service by exerting undue physical force against an individual, the IDB said on May 10.

Following the tragedy in Jēkabpils, when Leons Rusiņš murdered his ex-partner after stalking her for years, the parliament is working on amendments to the law providing for harsher punishments for similar crimes, Latvian Radio reported on May 9.

Until Tuesday 23:30, police had detained a total of 26 persons throughout Latvia in relation to May 9 provocations. 38 administrative and four criminal cases have been launched, the State Police said.

An alarm was announced Sunday in the State Police's Rīga Pārdaugava administration and the Riga Special Task Battalion Unit, which means that all possible forces were called in response to possible physical clashes following a fight among minors in Imanta on May 5.

During a service inspection of the State Police (VP) in relation to the murder in Jēkabpils, signs of disciplinary violations have been identified, the Chief of State Police Armands Ruks said in an interview on Latvian Television May 2.

Latvian President Egils Levits made a statement May 2 in the wake of a murder that has shocked Latvia and raised serious questions about law enforcement and in particular the protection of women against stalkers. The murder took place in mid-April.

In the trial of former Saeima member Jānis Ādamsons, accused of espionage, continued this week, according to Latvian Television's program De Facto on April 30. The prosecution believes that Ādamsons provided information to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) over a long period.

In connection with the murder case in Jēkabpils, the chief of the State Police's Austrumzemgale Station (former Jēkabpils precinct), Rolands Bērziņš, will lose his job, Latvian Television and LETA were informed by the State Police on April 28.

The State Police have detained eight persons suspected of attempting to defraud European Union funds for rural development worth €2.5 million, the police said on April 28.

The State Security Service (VDD) has called for the prosecution of three leaders of the DVS Urantija 'healing center' organization for justifying and glorifying the Russian war in Ukraine, as well as provoking national and ethnic hatred, VDD said on April 27.

On Wednesday, April 26, the prosecutor's office handed over the criminal case of the murder of insolvency administrator and lawyer Mārtiņš Bunkus, in which three persons have been charged in aggravating circumstances, said the prosecutor's office.

The State Police (VP), investigating the murder of a woman in Jēkabpils on April 16, are continuing their search for suspect Leons Rusiņš and ask for the help of the public by sending materials of interest to the investigation to the police, VP said in a release on April 25.

On Tuesday, more than 100 people gathered outside the Cabinet of Ministers to demand action on the negligence of the responsible authorities in the murder of a woman in Jēkabpils, as well as responsibility for the reluctance of politicians to ratify the Istanbul Convention, Latvian Television reported.

The tragic case in Jēkabpils, where a woman was murdered after the suspect Leons Rusiņš had stalked her and her co-workers for over a year, has prompted discussion on whether the responsible services were doing enough. Latvian Television's De Facto, aired April 23, found that the victim herself had given up on the police according to social media entries.

The continued harassment and eventual murder of a woman in Jēkabpils raised discussion over whether the police did all they could to prevent the tragedy. Chief of State Police Armands Ruks said in an interview with Latvian Radio on April 21 that it is unfair to put all the blame on the police and that prosecutor and court should also be looked at.

Firefighters of the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) are repeating appeals to the public not to risk their lives and property by buring off last year's dry grass – though the appeals seem to do little to prevent so-called 'kūla' fires appearing with remarkable regularity in the same places every year.

The State Police were legally unable to protect the murder victim in Jēkabpils municipality, the police chief Armands Ruks said in a press conference on Wednesday, April 19. The tragic case has brought to light serious shortcomings in legal proceedings regarding stalking and threatening.

In April, the State Police detained the Roman Catholic Church's Riga Saint Albert congregation's priest in April for alleged sexual abuse against a minor, the police said in a release on April 19.

State Police have been looking for 53-year-old Leons Rusiņš for two days. He killed his former partner in Jēkabpils, whom he was following for over a year. He also stalked the girlfriend's colleagues, Latvian Television reported April 18.

Latvia's State Security Service (VDD) has published the English-language version of its annual public report.

Law enforcement authorities are searching for the Latvian citizen Aleksandrs Mališevs who has participated in military operations and attacks against Ukrainian armed forces, the State Security Service (VDD) told LETA April 18.

LTV's program "4. studio" with the help of observant residents has investigated evidence of curious excavations on the edge of the forest between Rīga and Babīte.

The State Security Service (VDD) has released its annual public report reviewing its activities during 2022.
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