Latvian woman to stand trial in Minsk to answer spying charge

September 28, Pozirk. The Minsk City Court will begin the trial of Latvian national Alla Sokolenko on espionage charges tomorrow, the Viasna Human Rights Center reports. Judge Anastasija Papko will preside over the trial.

According to the human rights group, in late March 2022, Sokolenko was arrested in Belarus, while her travel companion, Diana Bakhmuta, returned to Latvia.

On December 14, 2022, Belarusian television broadcast a feature about operations conducted by the Committee for State Security (KGB) against Western and Ukrainian intelligence services. According to the film, the woman was detained on the street by five KGB agents.

“On behalf of Latvian special services, Sokolenko worked to recruit Belarusian soldiers, collect data and create compromising situations,” according to the film.

Late last year, a spokesman for the Latvian foreign ministry said Sokolenko had been given consular assistance.

“Intelligence services of Latvia and other NATO countries have publicly warned citizens about the intelligence and recruitment activities of Belarusian special services. There is a risk that these activities will be used against Latvians. Such travelers may be subjected to provocation by the Belarusian services, falsely accused of violating Belarusian laws and arrested as a result,” they explained.

The Polish, Lithuanian and Latvian governments regularly urge their citizens not to visit Belarus because some foreigners have been framed by secret agents.

Last year, Minsk introduced a visa waiver program for citizens of the neighboring EU countries. It became effective for Latvians and Lithuanians on April 15, 2022 and for Poles on July 1.