The Latgale District Court in Latvia sentenced a man to four years and six months of imprisonment for inciting hatred based on nationality and other offenses, along with one year of probation supervision.
This was reported by "European Truth," as stated by Delfi.
The man is accused of theft, vandalism resulting in property damage, causing moderate bodily harm, inciting national hatred, and glorifying and justifying war crimes.
According to the indictment, in the summer of 2022, the man removed a Ukrainian flag from a building along with its flagpole in Daugavpils.
In January 2023, while under the influence of alcohol, the accused struck the shelves containing bottles of alcoholic beverages with a tripod in one of the stores in Daugavpils.
Additionally, in the summer of 2023, in a state of intoxication and driven by anger, the accused stabbed a friend in the neck, causing moderate bodily harm.
From May to June 2024, the accused posted a total of ten videos on TikTok in which he made statements in Russian that justified and glorified war crimes, using aggressive language towards Ukrainians living in Ireland, thus inciting hatred and animosity against them.
The prosecutor is satisfied with the court's ruling and does not intend to request a complete verdict from the court.
The defendant has been previously convicted seven times for various offenses.
In the fall, two individuals were arrested in Daugavpils, Latvia for painting symbols glorifying military aggression on 14 objects.
Also, the Latvian State Security Service detained a citizen of the country suspected of publicly glorifying Putin and justifying terrorism.