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Crisis in Belarus

Minsk opens criminal case against Riga Mayor, Latvian top diplomat over flag incident

The actions of the Riga Mayor perceived as directed at inciting national hostility on the basis of national identity

MINSK, May 28. /TASS/. Belarusian Prosecutor General Andrei Shved has initiated a criminal case against Riga Mayor Martins Stakis and Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics following the incident with the Belarusian national flag, the republic’s office of the Prosecutor General reported on Friday.

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"Having reviewed reports of a serious crime against Belarus’ interests made public by news outlets and web resources, the Belarusian Prosecutor General Andrei Shved opened a criminal case against the Mayor of Riga Martins Stakis and Latvia’s Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics for deliberate acts committed by them, directed at inciting national hostility on the basis of national identity according to Part 3, Article 130 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus," the agency’s statement said.

The office of the Prosecutor General explained that "criminal acts consisted of public removal and replacement of a symbol of sovereign Belarus, the national flag raised in downtown Riga due to the participation of the national team in the Ice Hockey World Championship, with the white, red and white flag (which symbolizes the political opposition in Belarus - TASS)." "This desecration of the national symbol degraded the national dignity of Belarusians," the agency asserted.

It was specified that in order to launch a preliminary investigation, the criminal case was submitted to the Belarusian Investigative Committee. According to the Belarusian legislation, sanctions under this article include up to 12 years of incarceration.

Relations between Latvia and Belarus aggravated following an emergency landing of a Vilnius-bound Ryanair plane after a reported bomb threat. After the landing, the plane was inspected and no bomb was found inside. Among the passengers on the flight was Roman Protasevich, one of the co-founders of the Nexta Telegram channel, which Minsk recognizes as extremist. Protasevich was detained by law enforcement officials once the plane had landed in the Belarusian capital.

On May 24, the Latvian top diplomat Edgars Rinkevics and the mayor of Riga Martins Stakis, reacting to this incident, personally replaced the Belarusian national flag with the white, red and white flag, which symbolizes the political opposition in Belarus, near one of the hotels in downtown Riga where national teams participating in the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship are staying. According to the officials, this was done to support the people of Belarus.

Following the incident in Riga, which Minsk viewed as a desecration of the national flag, Latvia’s ambassador to Belarus was handed a protest note. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry proposed to the ambassador to leave the republic within 24 hours and to all the employees of the Latvian embassy - within 48 hours. In response to Belarus’ actions, the Latvian Foreign Ministry stated that it summoned the Belarusian charge d’affaires to inform him of the identical actions with regards to the country’s diplomats until the relations stabilize. On May 25, the Latvian government introduced restrictions on air services with Belarus.

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