Two pro-Russian activists facing criminal liability in Latvia and Lithuania, Aleksejs Roslikovs and Antanas Kandrotas, have fled to neighbouring Belarus, LRT reports. Roslikovs, a former member of the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, and former member of the Riga city council representing the pro-Russian For Stability party, has been charged in Latvia with incitement of national and ethnic hatred, while Kandrotas has been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for tax evasion and illegal fuel trade, LETA and ELTA reported.
Roslikovs and Kandrotas, together with associates in Estonia, helped set up pro-Russian groups in the Baltic States. Roslikovs has posted videos in Belarus attacking Latvian authorities, while Kandrotas appeared on Belarusian and Russian state media together with Edikas Jagelavicius, associate of pro-Russian propagandist Algirdas Paleckis, who has been imprisoned for spying for Russia. Jagelavicius also faces criminal liability in Lithuania for his actions supporting Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Also, a court in Lithuania sentenced the pro-Russian activist, Erika Svencioniene, to 18 months of restricted freedom for denying Soviet crimes, BNS reported. Svencione had alleged that a Soviet massacre of Lithuanian border guards in 1991 was carried out by Lithuanian officials. Meanwhile, prosecutors in Lithuania decided not to press charges against former presidential candidate Eduardas Vaitkus, who had disparaged Lithuania to Belarusian and Russian media during his visit to Belarus, ELTA reported.