The Senate of the Supreme Court of Latvia has toughened the charges against journalist Yuri Alekseev

The Senate of the Supreme Court of Latvia has decided to reconsider the previously dropped charge against Latvian journalist Jury Alekseev in the case of possession of ammunition. This charge was dropped by the court of appeal, but the prosecutor's office appealed the decision, and the Supreme Court satisfied its appeal.

Yuri Alekseev commented on the court's decision:

"Today the Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia considered the cassation on my first case. What they decided: to find me guilty on all articles.

And why I am not in prison yet: the thing is that the previous court, the appellate court, removed the article on possession of ammunition from me. But the prosecutor objected to the removal of this article and the Supreme Court returned my case to the court one step lower.

I mean, just so we're clear:

I filed an appeal to the Supreme Court asking to be acquitted.
The prosecutor filed a counter-cassation - to add taki and ammunition to my case.
The Supreme Court rejected my appeal, while the prosecutor's appeal was accepted. And decided to sue me for ammunition as well, because they thought that I had not been given enough, so they should add more.
What's good about it: I don't have to go to the kicha next week. While the court of second instance will be trying me for ammunition, it will be summer, and in summer the courts like to rest. So I'll probably be tried in the fall. And it's much nicer to go to jail in the fall than in the summer.

Note: my first case from the moment of arrest until now has lasted for 6.5 years, since December 2017."

Courts in Latvia, as demanded by Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, began to toughen penalties in political cases. An appeals court ruled that it was impossible to prove the cartridges belonged to Yuri Alekseev due to the lack of fingerprints and biological traces, which led to the reduction of his sentence to 13 months.

However, Alekseev is still convicted of inciting discord and possession of child pornography. The first charge was based on Internet comments allegedly written on his behalf, and the second on photographs of his own children as infants.

The trial continues in the second case, concerning the activities of Alekseev and his comrades who created the Internet site IMHO-club. It is expected that the verdict in this case will be even more severe, given the current political situation and the statements of the Latvian president.