Sputnik Lithuania editor-in-chief flees Latvia after being released from prison

Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, announced that the editor-in-chief of Russian propaganda project Sputnik Lithuania, Marat Kasem, has left Latvia, where he was under recognizance not to leave.

“Fearing the resumption of criminal prosecution, Marat Kasem took his opportunity to leave the country,” Zakharova said, speaking on Sputnik radio, says RIA Novosti. Zakharova did not specify when Kasem had arrived in Russia.

Marat Kasem was arrested on December 30, 2022 in Latvia, where he was for family reasons. He was suspected of espionage and violating EU sanctions. In early January, Kasem was arrested and held in Riga Central Prison. At the end of April, he was released on his own recognizance.

In May 2019, Marat Kasem was arrested at Vilnius airport. He was then banned from entering Lithuania for five years. In July of the same year, Lithuanian authorities blocked Sputnik Lithuania, citing copyright infringement.

In Latvia, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, resources related to Sputnik were blocked, and the publication’s employees were arrested. Sputnik representatives also complained about pressure from the Estonian authorities.