Image: Valerijs Kalmikovs at the court with Bible, photo by www.apollo.lv

Valerijs Kalmikovs was sentenced to 50 Latvian Lats (ca 70 Euros). He threw tomatoes, eggs and excrements at the participants of the church service during the Riga Pride and used swear words. This court’s decision can be challenged within 10 days at the Administrative Court but Kalmikovs could not tell if he is going to appeal. Explaining his actions he said that he was protesting against perversion. He also said he hopes gay march will not take place next year.

Aigars Baiks and Andrejs Gvozdickis, two other protesters, were also sentences to a penalty of 50 Latvian Lats. Olegs Belakovs was sentences to a penalty of 25 Latvian Lats (ca 35 Euros). He admitted using a word ‘pederast’ but said he did not consider it a swear word.

Two of the sentenced protesters were using the Russian language at the court and needed an interpretation. They also stated they were patriots of Latvia and that is why they got involved in such activities.

A case against Vladimirs Ivancuks, another protester and a member of a non-denominational church “New Age”, was also heard at the court. He was accused of petty hooliganism for using swear words and throwing tomatoes, eggs and excrements at the participants of the Pride church service. Accused denied conducting such activities. He said that he got involved in a fight between two men when police arrived, he got confused and run away from the police. The court decided to end a case against him and said there were not enough materials to proof he was involved in hooliganism.

Ivancuks is also the only amongst those whose cases were heard today at the court against whom a separate criminal procedure is initiated for non-compliance with the police order and attack on a representative of security police.

The court also decided to end a case against Dmitrijs Fjodorovs who denied the accusation. He said at the court that he was by the church only to film the event.
Article 167 of the Administrative Code “Petty hooliganism” provides for a penalty for up to 50 Latvian Lats or imprisonment for up to 15 days.

Images from today’s court hearing available on news portal apollo.lv: click on a camera symbol to view the images:
http://www.apollo.lv/portal/news/articles/79556

Previously the same news portal interviewed various legal experts and police representatives and asked if the protest activities during the Riga Pride should be qualified as petty hooliganism according to Administrative Code or as hooliganism according to Criminal Law and consequently carry heavier penalty.

Sintija Kajina, Press Officer of the State Police:
„It is possible that qualifications might be changed. We are still receiving applications from the victims and we are evaluating them”.

Valda Eilande, Senator of the Supreme Court:
“Judging from the media coverage, the protesters’ actions should be qualified as hooliganism according to Article 231 of Criminal Law. If throwing excrements at other people is not ‘disrespect against society and ignorance of commonly accepted norms of behaviour’ - what else can it be?”

Oskars Rode, barrister:
“In my opinion such activities should be only be qualified as hooliganism according to Criminal Law. You have to have huge legal imagination to see only petty hooliganism in such activities.”

Eriks Zvejnieks, Cheif Prosecutor of the Criminal Department of the General Prosecution Office:
„Throwing excrements at other people is an obvious disrespect of society and a breach of commonly accepted norms of behaviour. Do such norms include throwing extrements at other people? Such activities most definitely must qualified not accoring to Administrative Law but accoring to hooliganism article of the Criminal Law.

Valentija Liholaja, Professor of the Criminal Law Department of the University of Latvia:
„Throwing excteremts at people took place in front of many other people. Of course this is a rude and obvious demonstration of disrespect against society. I cannot imagine any other appropriate qualification but according to Article 231 of the Criminal Law „Hoologanism”. Qualification used by the police, petty hooliganist according to the Aministratoive Code in at least a very unproofessional choise.”