Kalnmeiers says Bordans' animosity toward him was politically motivated

RIGA - Prosecutor General Eriks Kalnmeiers is convinced that Justice Minister Janis Bordans' (New Conservative Party) animosity toward him was politically motivated.

Kalnmeiers said in an interview with Latvian Television this morning that several politicians had claimed before the last Saeima elections that various officials' performance had to be assessed.

Kalnmeiers stressed that the entire process against him was full of various inconsistencies with the law, and that Bordans had made a number of false allegations.

Kalnmeiers said that the law on the appointment and dismissal of the prosecutor general in Latvia was good, as it protected the prosecutor general from political influence. Bordans, however, has said that he would like to change this.

As reported, Supreme Court senator Marika Senkane has not discovered any grounds for firing Prosecutor General Kalnmeiers.

She said the Supreme Court plenary meeting will be convened to assess all materials of the probe and produce the decision.

Senkane told the press that she had not felt any political pressure during the assessment process. She also said that in her assessment she had focused on the three aspects that lawmakers had pointed out in their submission - that Kalnmeiers had acted illegally, has been negligent, causing loss to the state, and has lost his reputation.

LETA also reported, this past May Bordans said he had discovered indications in the work of Kalnmeiers suggesting that the prosecutor general does not meet the requirement for impeccable reputation.

At the request of 39 Saeima members, which the Supreme Court received in June, the Supreme Court’s chairman Ivars Bickovics initiated an assessment of Kalnmeiers’ suitability for his job.