The European Parliament has opened an investigation into Latvian MEP Tatjana Ždanoka, who is accused of being a Russian spy. The independent Russian research platform The Insider published an investigation on Monday showing that Ždanoka has been working as an agent for the Russian security service FSB for about twenty years. The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has said she is taking the allegations “very seriously”.
The Insider, which conducted the investigation in collaboration with media from Latvia, Estonia and Sweden, managed to seize emails between Ždanoka and her contacts within the FSB. These would be about Ždanoka’s work as a MEP and how it is aimed at stirring up pro-Russian sentiments in Latvia. Ždanoka is regularly critical of violations of the rights of Russians in the Baltic states. In Latvia and Estonia, ethnic Russians make up about a quarter of the population.
Ždanoka, who sits as an independent member of the European Parliament, refused to condemn the Russian attack on Ukraine in March 2022. In Latvia, she is a member of the political party Russian Union of Latvia, which promotes the rights of ethnic Russians in the country. Under Latvian law, she is not allowed to participate in elections to the national parliament due to her past ties to the Latvian Communist Party.
The Lithuanian security service also says it will investigate Ždanoka’s alleged cooperation with the Russian security service. Ždanoka denies the accusations.
Thom Canters
2024-01-30 21:33:45
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