The Latvian State Security Service has long followed Marat Kasem, editor of Sputnik Lithuania. His source regularly discredited the activities of the country and its allies.
In Latvia, the State Security Service (SSS) has arrested Marat Kasem (a Latvian citizen), the editor-in-chief of the Russian propaganda portal “Sputnik Lithuania”. On Thursday, January 5th, according to the Delphi publication.
Law enforcement detained Kasem on January 3, and he was subsequently detained. Suspected of violating EU sanctions. It provided economic resources to sanctioned media banned in Latvia and other EU countries, according to investigators.
According to Latvian media, the State Security Service has been documenting Kasem’s illegal activities for a long time. In particular, it was determined that the detainee was working in Russia Today (RT), one of the information sources controlled by the Kremlin. According to law enforcement, this media regularly discredits Latvia and its allies.
As noted in the State Security Service, the detained Latvian citizen occupies a leading position in this resource, which organizes and manages the creation of content. Marat Kasem lived and worked in Russia for several years and arrived in Latvia at the end of 2022.
At the same time, Russian propaganda source Sputnik reported that Kasem was also suspected of spying on behalf of the Kremlin.
It was also noted that Kasem participated in the Seimas elections from the For Alternative party in 2018 and was previously expelled from the Harmony party for being publicly rude to the voters.
It should be noted that after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sputnik Lithuania was blocked in EU countries to justify the military aggression of the Russian Federation and its actions to destabilize the situation in other European countries.
How did Marat Kasem work against Latvia?
Kasem never concealed his full support for the aggressive foreign policy of the Kremlin, as a result of which he was recognized as persona non grata in Lithuania in 2019.
Then Kasem complained to the Segodnya newspaper that he was afraid to return to Latvia, because there he could be sentenced to prison for actions against the Latvian state.
But judging by his social networks, he continued to visit the country despite his “fear”. Especially welcomed the New Year in Riga.
In Latvia, he is known primarily for his statements against society and the government.
Recall that in March 2022, Google announced that the RT and Sputnik channels, as well as the corresponding YouTube channels, were completely blocked. Meta made a similar decision, restricting access to Russian state media.
same Focus He wrote that on January 4, an item of unknown origin was found in the Russian embassy building in Riga.
Earlier, on December 28, the Latvian Citizenship and Immigration Service decided not to revoke the visas of employees of the Russian Dozhd TV channel, whose license was revoked. Examining the visas of Dozhd employees, the department concluded that journalists can continue to live and work in Lithuania.
Source: Focus
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