Latvian MEP suspected of spying for Russia

(Patria) - The Latvian State Security Service has launched criminal proceedings against Tatjana Ždanoka (73), a Member of the European Parliament and Latvian citizen.

Ždanoka is suspected of collaborating with Russian intelligence and security services, Latvian media reported yesterday.

The security service, better known by its acronym VDD, has been investigating Ždanoka's activities and her alleged ties to Russia over the past several weeks, since reports were published in January on Russian, Nordic and Baltic media sites claiming she has been an agent of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) since 2004.

The news agency LETA reports that the VDD decided to initiate criminal proceedings against Ždanoka on 22 February. Ždanoka has denied all allegations.

The European Parliament announced at the end of January that it had opened an investigation into media reports that Ždanoka has been working as a Russian agent for several years. It stated that it takes these allegations very seriously.

Following a joint investigation, the independent Russian investigative journalism site "The Insider", the Latvian site "Re:Baltica", the news portal "Delfi Estonia" and the Swedish newspaper "Expressen" reported on 29 January a series of leaked emails showing Ždanoka's connection with her contact.

"Expressen reported that Ždanoka spreads propaganda about alleged violations of the rights of Russians living in the Baltic countries and that, among other things, she advocates for Kremlin policy. She has also refused to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Latvia, a Baltic nation of 1.9 million people, and neighbouring Estonia are home to a large ethnic Russian minority, which makes up about 25 percent of the population.

Over the past several years, Moscow has regularly accused Latvia and Estonia of discriminating against the Russian-speaking population.

According to Ždanoka's biography on the European Parliament website, she has been president of the non-governmental organisation "Alliance of the Russian-Speaking People in the EU" since 2007. She was first elected to the European Parliament in 2004.