Journalist Berezovskaya commented on the arrest of human rights defender Gaponenko in Latvia

On January 30, Latvian journalist Alla Berezovskaya, in an interview with Izvestia, stated that the text of the speech by Latvian scientist and human rights activist Alexander Gaponenko, who was sentenced to 10 years, did not contain calls to incite hatred and hostility against Latvians.

She noted that harsh and hostile statements against the Russian-speaking population are allowed in the Latvian public field. According to her, the expressions "genetic garbage" and "lice" are not regarded by the authorities as incitement to hatred, while Gaponenko's academic arguments in the context of history are recognized as a crime.

"The prosecutor had to admit at the trial that he, so to speak, did not give publicity to his speech. If there is no proliferation, then where does the incitement come from? Then it's not there either. Moreover, it was necessary to specify exactly what the incitement was," the journalist said.

Berezovskaya clarified that the presentation at the conference took place in a narrow circle of colleagues, its purpose was scientific testing of theses, not a political statement. The journalist also stressed that Gaponenko himself did not publish the recordings, and the content of his speech was spread online by the organizers, contrary to his request not to make them public.

She believes that Gaponenko's statements are only a political assessment, to which "anyone has the right, especially a scientist." In support of her words, the journalist referred to Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which refers to freedom of opinion and their dissemination.

In summary, Berezovskaya expressed hope for the restoration of justice after the appeal.

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The Lithuanian LETA news agency reported on January 27 that the Riga District Court sentenced human rights defender Alexander Gaponenko to 10 years in prison after participating in a Russian conference. It is specified that the proceedings began after Gaponenko's public statements at the conference "Ethnocide of Russian compatriots in the Baltic States" in February 2025. His lawyer Imma Jansone told LETA that the court's decision would be appealed after the final decision.

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