Wounded Donbass militia man tortured by Security Police in Latvia

Latvian opposition activist Vladimir Linderman told EADaily’s correspondent he had managed to find out information on the citizen of Latvia who was detained by the Security Police for participation in the Donbass self-defense.

“Today, lawyer Imma Jansone visited him at the Riga Central Prison. His name is Artem Skrypnyk, born in 1990, a resident of Daugavpils. He was detained and arrested in January 2016. He faced Article 77.1 – involvement in an armed conflict outside Latvia, which (the conflict) is aimed against the territorial integrity or political independence of the state…The article is aimed against the residents of Latvia who hurried to help the people and militia in Donbass.  The highest punishment under this article is ten years of imprisonment,” Linderman said.

“In Lugansk People’s Republic, Artem received a serious head wound. The consequences are still obvious. He was partially paralyzed, which did not hold the police from keeping him in prison where it is impossible to render the necessary medical aid. Investigator of the Security Police Vyshnevsky prosecutes the case.  He is interrogating Skrypnyk trying to find out the numbers of the Russian military units fighting in Ukraine and those preparing to invade Latvia (it is not a joke). Of course, he should not have returned to Latvia, but his mother and grandmother were there…what is done cannot be undone. So, our duty is to help him,” the oppositionist said.

To recall, on January 25, the Security Police of Latvia started criminal proceedings against a Latvian citizen who fought in Donbass on the side of the militia. The man was detained after returning to Latvia. The court sanctioned his arrest. Since the investigation continues, the Security Police provides no more details, says Spokesperson of the Security Police Līga Pētersone. It is for the first time that a man is detained in Latvia for fighting in Donbass on the side of the militia, which the local authorities call “a terrorist group.”