Latvia's Supreme Court released convicted Soviet war criminal Vasily Kononov from custody on April 25, saying there should be a new investigation of the evidence.
Published:
5 May 2000 y., Friday
Latvia's Supreme Court allowed the 77-year-old to return to his Riga home, though he is not permitted to leave the country. The former Soviet partisan had been in detention since his arrest in 1998.
Kononov was given a six year jail sentence early this year for ordering the execution of nine civilians who he suspected of pro-Nazi sympathies; prosecutors said his victims included a pregnant woman and several children.
Pending a final ruling on whether his conviction should be quashed, the court called for clearer proof the victims were unarmed civilians; it also asked for expert testimony on whether the offenses are rightly considered war crimes.
The killings took place in Latvia in 1944, the last year of a three year German occupation. Kononov at the time led a small band of pro-Soviet partisans.
Kononov has maintained his innocence, claiming that those who died got caught in the crossfire in a battle between pro-Soviet and Nazi-backed forces.
Moscow has also stepped forward to defend Kononov, and the case has strained Russian-Latvian relations.
But Russian officials praised the Riga court's decision to release Kononov. The Russian Ambassador to Latvia Alexander Udaltsov said it was "a serious step towards justice."
Šaltinis:
The Baltics Worldwide
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
The fate of blue fin tuna hangs in the balance this week as a complete ban on the trade is debated by MEPs.
more »
A $100 million pledge from the Government of Japan has helped to secure the funding base and launch the operational phase of two new climate programs supporting forest management and renewable energy investments in developing countries.
more »
Europeans quite happy with their personal situation, but less satisfied with economic and social climate in their country.
more »
Spain wishes to “make as much progress as possible” to ensure the EU becomes party to the Council of Europe's Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms soon, according to the Spanish Minister for Justice, Francisco Caamaño, at today's opening of a seminar on the challenges and possibilities arising from the Treaty of Lisbon coming into force.
more »
According to Belarusian tradition, a stork brings good fortune to the village it settles in while in western culture the stork is commonly associated with childbirth.
more »
The World Bank Board of Directors today approved an additional financing credit to the Republic of Moldova in the amount of US $20 million for the Social Investment Fund II Project.
more »
The Spanish Health and Social Policy Minister, Trinidad Jiménez, and the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Vladimir Spidla, addressed the press in Madrid on the launch of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion 2010.
more »
The European Commission and the Spanish Presidency of the EU will tomorrow launch the 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.
more »
Smoking at a restaurant like this one in Spain could soon be a thing of the past. Spanish lawmakers want to stub out the habit in public places like bars and restaurants. But it's an unpopular proposal in a country where around 30 percent of the population smoke.
more »
As President of the European Economic and Social Committee, I would like, on behalf of all the Committee's members, to express my sympathy to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
more »