Espionage charges against Latvian national in Belarus groundless – Latvia’s foreign ministry

April 6, BPN. A Latvian national, arrested in March 2022 in Belarus, has been groundlessly accused of espionage, Delfi reported, citing Diana Eglīte, spokesperson for Latvia’s foreign ministry. 

Latvian embassy in Minsk provided all possible assistance to the arrested despite a “lack of legality” in Belarus, she added.

Latvian intelligence has been warning about recruiting activities and possible provocations of the Belarusian secret services, Eglīte said. People traveling to Belarus may be falsely accused of violating Belarusian laws and arrested, she added, stressing the official warning to refrain from visiting Belarus.

In late December 2022, Alaksandr Łukašenka extended the visa waiver program for Belarus’ western neighbors until the end of 2023.

Since the start of 2023, a total of 79,032 people from Lithuania, Latvia and Poland used the visa waiver to travel to Belarus despite the official warnings of security risks.

Belarusian authorities arrested a total of 18 Latvian tourists since the launch of the visa waiver in April 2022.