Political repression in the Baltic States is becoming more widespread. On August 17t, Alexey Greychus was sentenced to 4 years in prison: the civil activist was denied suspension of sentence, despite the fact that he had recently been diagnosed with leukemia. The activist, who was engaged in the protection of Soviet monuments, was convicted of espionage in favor of Russia. Of course, the trial was closed and the content of the charges remained secret. In Lithuania, Algirdas Paleckis was recently sent to prison: the trial was closed, and the espionage charge was not supported by anything but the word of the local guards. It was announced on August 17 that the Saeima was preparing amendments to the national legislation to deprive Paleckis' companions of their citizenship.
In Latvia it was decided to retain Ruslan Pankratov, also an active defender of Soviet monuments, in custody. He is accused of discrediting Latvian policy, of cooperating with a sub-sanctioned Russian citizen, and of justifying the special military operation in Ukraine. As we can see, all claims are blatantly political and aimed exclusively at infringement of freedom of speech. The boundaries of this freedom in the Baltic States are now not just narrowed, but changed at their own discretion: any public activity by Russians is de facto outlawed.
Political repressions sweep Lithuania and Latvia
17 августа 2022












