Russian Foreign Ministry: the situation with migrants in Latvia shows the racist essence of its regime

Cases of mistreatment of migrants in Latvia and persecution of volunteers reflect the racist nature of the regime in this country. This is stated in comments Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Zakharova drew attention, in particular, to the report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), which refers to a hundred migrants who suffered from the actions of the Latvian border guards and police. The situation was previously addressed by specialized international structures, the representative of the Foreign Ministry added, but Riga did not take any steps. Instead, the country’s authorities, Zakharova noted, are tightening migration laws and persecuting volunteers who sympathize with migrants.

“The tragic situation with migrants clearly demonstrates the racist nature of the ruling regime in Latvia – the ideological heir and follower of the Nazi criminals,” Zakharova said.

In her opinion, the situation with human rights in Latvia can improve only after the “Western defenders” of this country begin to notice the lawlessness taking place in it.

August 8 Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia announced on the enhanced mode of operation of the border service for six months from August 11, 2023 to February 10, 2024 in the administrative territories of Ludza, Kraslava, Augshdaugava counties and Daugavpils. The Latvian authorities explained the need for an enhanced regime of work “disproportionately large number of cases of illegal crossing of the Latvian-Belarusian border.”

According to the Latvian authorities, since August 11, 2021, 14,000 people were not allowed to cross the border outside the checkpoints, of which 5,461 were prevented from crossing the border from January 1 to August 7, 2023. For humanitarian reasons, 282 people were allowed to cross the border, including 117 minors.

In 2021, several countries bordering Belarus (Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) at once announced an unprecedented influx of illegal migrants from the territory of the republic. The EU accused Minsk of organizing illegal migration channels in order to force the EU to lift sanctions from the republic. In the summer of 2022, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced a weakening of control over the flow of illegal immigrants due to European sanctions: according to him, Minsk has “neither the money nor the strength” to restrain refugees who arrive in the country legally.