Together For Latvia party's board member Podkolzins sentenced to five years in prison for espionage

RIGA - Ilja Podkolzins, a board member of political party Together For Latvia that is led by former Rezekne Mayor Aleksandrs Bartasevics, and who has been charged with collecting intelligence in Latvia and passing it on to Russian intelligence services through the pro-Kremlin criminal organization Baltic Anti-Fascists, has reached a plea agreement with the prosecutors and has been sentenced to five years in prison followed by one year of probation supervision, LETA has learned.

The verdict has not yet entered into force and may be appealed within ten days.

According to Firmas.lv, as of today Podkolzins is no longer a member of Together For Latvia board.

According to the indictment, Podkolzins obtained intelligence regarding Latvia's critical infrastructure - specifically transportation and logistics facilities, including hangars on the territory of Riga Airport and their use, as well as access control and security procedures at the airport.

He also collected and passed on to Russian intelligence services information regarding the construction of the national border and border infrastructure, defense and military mobility measures along the border with Russia, training of foreign soldiers in Latvia, as well as information on specific Latvian nationals, according to the State Security Service.

TV3 television's Neka Personiga (Nothing Personal) reported that the Baltic Anti-Fascists have been collecting and passing on information to the Russian authorities on military objects, cargo, as well as individuals and companies supporting Ukraine. The Telegram channel is run by Sergejs Vasiljevs, who fled Latvia and forwarded the information he received to persons linked to the Russian special services.

According to Neka Personiga, the leaked correspondence from Russia shows Podkolzins' contacts with Vasiljevs. It states that Podkolzins traveled to Moscow several times in 2023 and 2024, where he met Vasiljevs.

The material made available to the program shows that Podkolzins, using the alias Vadim Sedov, sent information about objects on the territory of Riga Airport, including hangars and cargo.

According to publicly available information, Podkolzins was once a member of the Daugavpils City Council, headed the Latvian Investment and Development Agency's representative office in Russia, worked as an economic attache at the Latvian Embassy, and worked in the aviation industry.

As reported, four people were detained this past January and are currently in custody. Three of them are Latvian citizens and one is a non-citizen of Latvia. These four individuals are suspected of espionage, namely, they deliberately collected intelligence information about Latvia's civilian and military critical infrastructure, as well as individuals and organizations involved in activities supporting Ukraine.