Due to his age and serious illnesses, Aivars Lembergs belongs to the risk group, which had to provide the third vaccine as a priority, but the institutions of the Ministry of Justice do not consider that the common state policy to limit the spread of covid disease would apply to prisons. Kovids has been admitted to Latvian penitentiary institutions, and 27 sick prisoners have been found in the Central Prison alone. The prisoners are not walking around, and the guards have been brought to them by guards. It is thought that in prisons there is a frightening disregard for security measures, if so many have already fallen ill.
The condition of Aivars Lembergs is difficult, but stable. Covid is not the only ailment he has – there are others, and since September there is also a bruise that is not treated. Modern medicine is prevented by surgery, but Aivars Lembergs does not receive help, and it is thought that he is forced to suffer pain all the time. This is torture, which is not allowed by Latvian law or international law, but the law has not been written for the Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns (JKP) – he himself seems to be the law, the prosecutor’s office and the court. And now it’s starting to look like he wants to be a hangman too.
Why is Aivars Lembergs in prison at all? Is he convicted? What crimes has he been convicted of?
No, Aivars Lembergs has not been convicted, as the criminal case has only been heard in the first instance. So there is a possibility that he may be fully acquitted at a higher instance. This would be the case if Latvia had a state governed by the rule of law. Lembergs is in prison not because his crimes have been proven, but because the court has imposed a precautionary measure.
This is a very unique case: a person suspected of economic crime is not usually detained until the sentence has entered into force. But Aivars Lembergs is being held. In addition, the court had no indication that he could flee and evade his sentence if he were sentenced to a higher instance. He wouldn’t even have such a possibility in theory, because the special services have been following in his footsteps for more than two decades. While the court was pending, Aivars Lembergs visited abroad several times. But then now he would have suddenly planned to pack a suitcase and swim across the river to another country under the guise of a night? Absurd!
In imposing such a precautionary measure, the court has ruled exactly as required by Aivars Lembergs’ political opponents – he has been “removed from the track” so that he cannot take part in the elections. Aivars Lembergs is a political prisoner, corresponding to such a designation in the most classical way. No legal arguments have persuaded the court to judge as it has judged, but harsh political pressure. However, the court had already seen the words used by Jānis Bordāns to rebuke the Limbaži judge, who, in the opinion of the Minister, had made an incorrect judgment in another case. This had a hardening effect – the court of first instance did not dare to fully acquit Aivars Lembergs.
Over time, there has been a lot of propaganda against Aivars Lembergs and Ventspils – sometimes they have been quite comic horror stories and fairy tales. However, if a topic is twisted and repeated over and over again, what part of society it makes an impression on. Aivars Lembergs – a thief, an oligarch and what not yet.
However, even under the ultimate political pressure, the court has not had the hand to write in such a place in the judgment such a phrase that Aivars Lembergs would have stolen a euro cent for the state or local government. It’s nowhere to be found anywhere! Aivars Lembergs is justified in all the articles mentioned in the accusation of this type of prosecutor’s office. Because it is not possible to judge if it is clear that there has been no crime.
The only crime allegedly committed by Aivars Lembergs in the sentence is an episode where he was accused of extorting a bribe.
How did it happen there?
In 2008, a number of entrepreneurs who are known to be in conflict with the mayor of Ventspils suddenly remembered that in 1993 Aivars Lembergs had extorted a bribe from them. What a poor thing! The terrible Aivars Lembergs has threatened them in every way and forced them to hand over the shares of one transit company.
Needless to say, such a story sounds more than questionable. In a democracy and the rule of law, any doubts tend to be translated in favor of the accused. However, in Latvia the court has not only interpreted it in favor of the prosecution, but has literally rewritten the entire prosecution’s prosecution in its judgment using the “copy paste” method.
If Latvia is still a democracy and a state governed by the rule of law, Aivars Lembergs could have high hopes in the highest court for a acquittal on all charges. But is Latvia a democratic and legal state? Doubts are beginning to arise.
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