Three people slapped jail terms in relation to death of mother and child during homebirth

RIGA - The Zemgale District Court in Jelgava today sentenced three persons to more than two years in prison in a case concerning the death of a mother and a child during homebirth, the Courts Administration informed LETA.

The case involved several members of the First Evangelical Church of Jesus - the husband and father of the deceased woman, as well as the wife of the spiritual leader of the church. They carried out unauthorized medical treatment which led to the death of the infant and his mother during childbirth. The court found the defendants guilty of the offences and sentenced them to two years and ten months and two years and seven months imprisonment.

As the case was heard in closed session, the court did not provide information on which of the defendants received which sentence.

The defendants agreed to organize, manage and provide assistance during the delivery, knowing that they did not have the necessary medical training, equipment for childbirth to provide medical assistance and care for the patient, if necessary.

The prosecutor, the accused and the defense may, within ten days of the date of the summary judgment, apply in writing to the court for a full judgment.

As reported, the two accused men were initially remanded in custody, but later a decision was taken to amend the security measure to placing them under police supervision, imposing a ban on leaving the country.

Latvijas Avize daily previously reported that a 21-year-old woman went into labour on May 14, 2019. Her then 25-year-old husband Renars, 51-year-old father Valdis Simsons and the 40-year-old wife of the spiritual leader of the religious congregation Solvita Davida decided to deliver the child themselves, even though none of them had any medical training.

The birth resulted in the child being born suffocated, while the mother later died of eclampsia, the most severe form of pregnancy toxicosis.

Latvijas Avize reported that, according to sources and some publications, members of the First Evangelical Church of Jesus are called to blind obedience to the leader of the church, disassociation from secular life.