LATVIA: TROUBLING USE OF LEGAL PRESSURE TO SQUELCH

UNCLAS RIGA 000737 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM ECON EFIN LG SUBJECT: LATVIA: TROUBLING USE OF LEGAL PRESSURE TO SQUELCH ECONOMIC DOUBTS ¶1. (SBU) Summary: With the econmic situation in Latvia becoming more tense, law enforcement agencies are applying hard measures against individuals publicly doubting the stability of banking system or the national currency. A Latvian law, amended after fears of Lat devaluation in 2007, makes it a crime to knowingly disseminate untrue data or information about the condition of the Latvian finance system, punishable by fines and jail time up to six years. Criminal proceedings have been launched against a college lecturer and a pop singer, triggering criticism from human rights experts and free speech activists. Several journalists have also said they feel intimidated by the government's use of the legal provision, and that the situation reminds them more of journalistic pressures that exist in Russia. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Utilizing a law against dissemination of untrue financial information, police have been actively questioning, and even detaining, persons for making negative comments about the Latvian banking system and national currency. Rumors about eventual devaluation of the Lat have been circulating in Latvia in the past weeks despite numerous government officials assuring this would not occur. Dmitry Smirnovs, a finance lecturer at Ventspils College, was taken into police custody for two days for urging people to withdraw their savings from banks in a discussion organized by a local newspaper. He has since been released but is not permitted to leave the country and is required to notify police of any change of address. ¶3. (SBU) Similarly, investigations have been launched against Valters Fridenbergs, a popular singer who made a joke about banks and withdrawing deposits during a concert and was later questioned by the police. In both cases, the Security Police (the agency dealing with threats to national security),was the acting authority. It has refused to comment on the investigations. In neither case are we aware of any suggestion that the individuals were deliberately seeking to destabilize the national currency, the Lat, or to manipulate markets for personal financial gain. ¶4. (SBU) Human rights commentators and free speech web sites have condemned the actions taken by the police and described them as an overreaction. Political commentator Karlis Streips said using the police to silence dissent from the official line was unwarranted and set a dangerous precedent. Despite that, Bank of Latvia Governor Ilmars Rimsevics stated in an interview with Latvian National Radio that in "every other country, people spreading rumors about devaluation of the currency would be arrested within 10 or 15 minutes". ¶5. (SBU) The Latvian press was quick to report on these events and the editorial pages of major Latvian newspapers have been openly critical of the government's actions. Several journalists have commented that they feel intimidated by the use of such police actions, noting that the practice is reminiscent of governmental pressures placed on journalists and editors in Russia. An Amcit reporter for an American financial news service told us that he had received calls from the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Latvia for his reporting on the financial situation in Latvia. The reporter told us that he is nervous that he will be targeted next and said that many journalists were talking among themselves about how to fully cover this story given what they feel is the government's hyper sensitivity and overreaction, and willingness to use security institutions to intimidate critics. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: The use of security laws to intimidate honest critics of the economic situation is troubling. Though one of the three sub-sections of the law addresses the dissemination of untrue information for the purpose of acquiring property, the other two sections make no mention of the need that such untrue statements have a motive for personal gain or intent to alter markets to be a crime. In a climate where corruption concerns are ever growing, this pressure to squelch journalistic and free speech freedoms is disturbing. Larson