Latvian Prosecutor General on the case of MEP Tatiana Zhdanok: if there was a war, we could have shot her

Latvian Prosecutor General Juris Stukans regrets that the authorities, at least for the time being, are forced to observe the letter of the law, so the leader of the Russian Union of Latvia (RSL), member of the European Parliament Tatiana Zhdanok cannot be put to the wall. If it were wartime, then it would be a different matter. It is impossible to initiate criminal proceedings against Zhdanok, who is accused of cooperating with the Russian Federal Security Service and is openly called a spy, Stukans said on TV24. Politically, we can talk about it, but there can be no legal consequences or even withdrawal of the mandate if there are no grounds for it. If there were - the case would have been initiated long ago, he explained.

"Yes, humanly understandable - there would be a war, it could be put against the wall and quickly executed. But in a state governed by the rule of law, you have to work in accordance with the provisions of the law," Stukans regretfully admitted.

The prosecutor also admitted that there were no such precedents in Latvia at all. "In my opinion, neither during my term of office, nor in the previous years of Latvia's independence, there was not a single trial [on state treason]," Stukans concluded.