Lindermans to be kept in custody

RIGA - The Riga Regional Court ruled today to keep Vladimirs Lindermans in custody. He was the former leader of the Latvian branch of Russia's radical National Bolshevik Party, accused of plotting overthrow Latvia's government by force

Lindermans is also charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

After a sitting on Monday at which the court considered whether to leave Lindermans under arrest, prosecutor Irina Priede told the press she disagreed with the position of Linderman's lawyer who argued that it was unlawful to keep her client in custody.

Linderman's lawyer Jelena Kvjatkovska, meanwhile, told journalists that her client was put on an international list of wanted criminals in 2002,, which means that the prosecutor's request to leave Lindermans in detention was unlawful as well.

The legal representative added that Lindermans had provided comprehensive testimonies during the investigation.

The probe into Linderman's case was resumed on March 20, when Lindermans was finally extradited to Latvia after six year's of hiding.

Lindermans who used to head Uzvara (Victory), an organization outlawed in Latvia which served as the local branch of Russia's radical National Bolshevik Party, lived in Russia for several years and is one of the leaders of Russian National Bolsheviks.

Lindermans' Victory organization was folded in 2003 under a court ruling as being in breach with the organization articles. It was also found that the "organization's members categorically opposed Latvian government on the issues of foreign and domestic policy."

In 2003, Russian authorities refused to extradite Lindermans to Latvia saying that the extradition request was politically motivated. In 2005, the Moscow regional police again demanded his expulsion from Russia, but the court ruled against it. The following year Lindermans was again apprehended and the court ruled to hand him over to Latvia, but Lindermans managed to avoid deportation until now.

This decision came as a surprise to Russian opposition leaders, who composed a letter to the Latvian government requesting objectivity in the case. Celebrities (including former world chess champion Gary Kasparov) and human rights activists sent this open letter claiming that "We have reason to believe that the current charges are politically motivated and unsubstantiated"