European Parliament Imposes Sanctions on Latvian MEP from Latvian-Russian Union Accused of Spying for Russia
On 10 April, the European Parliament (EP) imposed sanctions on Latvian MEP Tatjana Ždanoka, a member of the Latvian-Russian Union, for violating the EP's code of conduct, Latvian Radio and Latvian Television reported.
European Parliament President Roberta Mecola announced that Ždanoka will not be allowed to represent the parliament at conferences, foreign visits and other events until the end of the current parliamentary term. Ždanoka has been charged per diem for five days, totalling €1,750.
Zhdanoka claimed that she was punished for submitting an incorrect declaration, where she failed to list several NGOs "where neither she nor anyone else received a salary". She had never been prosecuted before and did not feel guilty, Zhdanoka said.
After receiving her sentence, she told LTV that it was not related to the issue of cooperation with Russia. "It was nothing. It was a punishment of the parliament for not complying with the declaration of financial interests," Ždanoka said.
Earlier, the State Security Service of Latvia opened a criminal case against Tatjana Ždanoka for cooperation with Russian special services.
The leaked emails show that Ždanoka, a Latvian MEP, has been regularly reporting to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) on her activities and asking for money to organise events since at least 2004, but she denies collaborating with Russian intelligence services and refers to her contacts as her youthful friend, the Baltic Centre for Investigative Journalism Re:Baltica reported in January. The letters were obtained by the Russian investigative magazine The Insider, which shared the information with Re:Baltica, the Estonian portal Delfi and the Swedish newspaper Expressen.
Tatiana Zhdanoka, 73, a Russian-speaking woman, then made a defiant speech in the European Parliament, saying that she had always worked only for peace.
"Yes, I am an agent, an agent of peace, an agent of Europe without fascism, an agent of minority rights, an agent of a united Europe from Lisbon to the Urals," she said.
As The Gaze previously reported, in February, the European Parliament adopted a resolution against Russian disinformation ahead of the EU elections.