Russian, Nordic and Baltic news sites reported Monday that Ždanoka has been an agent for the Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB, since at least 2004.
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Following a joint investigation, Russian independent investigative journalism The Insider, its Latvian counterpart Re:Baltica, news portal Delfi Estonia and Swedish newspaper Expressen published a series of emails they said had been leaked and showed his interactions with his manager.
Expressen claimed that Ždanoka “spreads propaganda about alleged violations of the rights of Russians in the Baltic states and advocates a pro-Kremlin policy. In the European Parliament, he refused to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine. “
Metsola is also scheduled to discuss the case with the leaders of parliament’s political teams on Wednesday. Ždanoka is an independent member of the meeting and is not aligned with any of its political teams.
A law enforcement officer stands guard at the headquarters of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, Russia’s most sensible security agency, in Moscow, Jan. 31, 2021. Latin MP Tatjana Ždanoka has been accused through several European news sites of acting as an FSB agent. (NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP Getty Images)
Parliament declined to comment on the matter and referred investigations to the Latvian authorities.
Latvia, a Baltic country of 1. 9 million people, and neighboring Estonia are home to a gigantic ethnic Russian minority comprising about 25% of the population due to their membership in the Soviet Union. In recent years, Moscow has accused Latvia and Estonia of discriminating against their Russian-speaking populations.
Latvia and Estonia have vehemently condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, bolstering defenses on their borders with Russia.
Ždanoka did not respond to emailed questions about the charges. His representative, Zhanna Karelina, told Latvian news portal Delfi on Tuesday that Ždanoka is lately consulting with lawyers about the option of suing the four media outlets.
Posted on the European Parliament’s website, the resume of Ždanoka, aged 74, lists her as the president of the EU Russian-Speakers’ Alliance, a non-governmental organization, since 2007.
Latvia’s security service, the VDD, said it was contemplating investigating Ždanoka’s alleged cooperation with Russian intelligence and security services.
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In a statement, the VDD insists that “until 2016, the Latvian legislative framework did not provide for the liability of criminals for aiding a foreign state or a foreign organization acting against the Republic of Latvia. “
“That is why the historical episodes published in media referring to 2005 until 2013 are not qualified as a criminal activity,” the VDD said.
Therefore, “it was not imaginable to consider a user criminally guilty for such activities” in Latvia, the firm said, adding that “Ždanoka’s prestige as a member of the European Parliament and his legal immunity secured through his prestige were a facet vital contribution that contributed to its activities aimed at supporting Russia’s geopolitical interests.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the accusations against Ždanoka a “witch hunt.”
How many other people have been arrested and imprisoned on charges of links to the communists or the KGB?It’s the same thing,” Peskov said. Of course, this does not correspond in any way to the interpretation of the so-called ideals of democracy that have lately dominated in Europe. “
Peskov’s daughter, Elizaveta Peskova, worked as an intern at the European Parliament for six months in 2018-2019, leading to security concerns among several lawmakers in the assembly. Officials said at the time that he only had to make the records public.
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Under the assembly’s rules, members of the European Parliament “shall be free and independent,” and they shall also “vote on an individual and personal basis. They shall not be bound by any instructions and shall not receive a binding mandate.”
The code of conduct, which is binding, requires lawmakers to “act only in the public interest and carry out their work with selflessness, integrity, openness, diligence, honesty, responsibility and respect for the dignity and reputation of the European Parliament. “
Legislators are also obliged to submit a detailed declaration of their private interests to the parliament and a separate declaration when they are aware that they might have conflicts of interest.