RIGA - The Supreme Court Senate has satisfied a complaint filed by Aleksander Kazakov, an activist of minority language and citizenship rights, over his blacklisting by the Interior Ministry in 2004. The court ruled on Feb. 23 that, when deciding on Kazakov's extradition, the then Interior Minister Eriks Jekabsons failed to consider the consequences such a move would have on his private life.
The senate deemed this a serious procedural violation and therefore revoked the minister's decision to ban the Russian citizen from entering Latvia.
The court ruled that the interior minister also disregarded Kazakov's emotional and social ties with Latvia, his chances of finding accommodation in Russia and how the decision would affect relations with his mother, who lives in Latvia.
"I won't deny that I didn't expect such a decision. I was surprised by the court's proficiency and professionalism," Kazakov told the Russian-language newspaper Vesty Segodnya. "I already wanted to order tickets to Strasburg, but right now I'll have to postpone my trip to the European court."
Violations of a person's right for privacy have a legal purpose, the court said 's to protect the security of state and society, as well as public order. However, the court said the measure was disproportionate in this case.
"We are very glad that the court dared tell the minister that he had violated the law, and that human rights also apply to foreigners," said Kazakov's representative, Elizabete Krivcova.
At the same time the Supreme Court rejected Kazakov's argument that the interior minister should have specified the threat he was allegedly posing to the Latvian state. Although the law does not require this, the court said, by revealing such information the minister could jeopardize the state's interests.
While living in Latvia, Kazakov was an active member of Shtab, an unregistered organization that spearheaded mass protests against the country's education reform. Kazakov was a particularly virulent protestor and got beneath the skin of many government and law enforcement officials for his particularly inflammatory statements.
The court ruled that Latvian authorities had not violated Kazakov's right to know his legal options. However, the freedom of expression - if exercised in relation with political activities - cannot be a sufficient reason for cancelling a decision on blacklisting, the court said.
In his petition to the Latvian Supreme Court, Kazakov insisted that, in addition to listing the threats he posed to the state, the Latvian minister should have also "determined the intensity of his threat."
The Shtab leader said he was blacklisted because the interior minister thought him "likely" to threaten national security and the public order. This, he pointed out, was unjustified because only people who "have already created" the said threat should be listed as personas non grata.
Kazakov claimed that he had committed no crime, only expressed his opinion.
In their defense, Interior Ministry representatives said that Kazakov had been blacklisted based on information from competent authorities, specifically the Security Police. As this information is secret, they added, Jekabsons had no obligation to describe the nature of the threat Kazakov posed to Latvia.
While serving as an aide for Russian MP Dmitry Rogozin, Kazakov was expelled from Latvia overnight on Sept. 4, 2004. He still works as an aide to Rogozin, who is also renowned for his vituperative remarks about Latvia.
In 2004 Jekabsons announced the decision during a special press briefing, saying that Latvia "could not be kind forever to a person intentionally bent on inciting ethnic hatred."
Two days later, the Russian Foreign Ministry demanded an official explanation over the expulsion, but their Latvian counterpart was hesitant to respond.
Despite being deported, Kazakov continued to influence Latvia's large ethnic Russian community. In fact it was his plea 's made by cell phone - at the all-Russian congress in Riga on Sept. 11, 2004 that prevented the event from collapsing due to internal bickering.
The Russian citizen is currently claiming financial and moral compensation for being deported from Latvia in late 2004. "The court will have to satisfy my claim and collect the money from the Interior Ministry in my advantage," Kazakov told Vesty Segodnya.
"When I was deported, I didn't have any doubt that I would return to Latvia," he added. "Now I have taken the first step on this suitcase-central-station-Riga-route."
The Supreme Court Senate's ruling is final and cannot be further appealed.
