Editor of Kremlin propaganda portal sentenced to two years in jail for violating EU sanctions

RIGA - Kurzeme District Court has sentenced Latvian citizen Valentins Rozencovs, editor in chief of Kremlin propaganda portal Sputnik Latvija, to two years in prison for violating European Union sanctions, LETA learned at the court.

The verdict can be appealed to Riga Regional Court.

The prosecutor on the case told LETA that she was satisfied with the verdict, as this is the exact sentence the prosecution had sought for the defendant. Rozencovs did not attend the court hearing today.

Rozencovs signed contract with Russian state propaganda agency Rossiya Segodnya (RS), the owner of Sputnik Latvija, to work as the portal's editor in chief from October 20, 2016 to December 23, 2019. In doing so, Rozencovs provided services to RS Director General Dmitry Kiselyov, who has been on the list of personal sanctions imposed by the EU since 2014.

In January 2020, the State Security Service opened criminal proceedings against several citizens of Latvia, who created content for Sputnik and Baltnews portals of Russian propaganda agency RS, for violation of international sanctions.

The EU imposed sanctions on Kiselyov, a close ally of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, for using media under his management to pursue Russia's aggressive foreign policy, in particular activities undermining Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.

In September 2021, the criminal was forwarded to the prosecutor's office. In total, 14 individuals were charged in the case, including former Baltnews editor in chief Andrejs Jakovlevs and pro-Russian activist Vladimirs Lindermans. Some of them have already been convicted.