Riga District Court sentenced Artem Skripnik to five years in prison for being engaged in the armed conflict in Donbas.
According to investigators, Skripnik, a resident of Latvia’s Daugavpils, participated in military operations in Luhansk and taught pro-Russian militants how to handle weapons, which is indicative of his actively being involved in the conflict threatening the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
At the same time, the acquittal issued on August 4, 2017 has been canceled. After serving the term, the man will be under two-year police supervision.
The convict’s actions come as a brazen breach of the international law and the UN Charter, a statement by Latvia’s Prosecutor General reads.
In late February, a Munich court sentenced Sergei Kiselyov, a nephew of the notorious Kremlin mouthpiece, to two years and three months in prison for his training and getting ready to participate in the hostilities in eastern Ukraine.
In 2018, 13 criminal cases were opened against Belarusians suspected of mercenarism, police colonel and Interior Ministry’s representative Mikalai Karpyankou said this week.
belsat.eu, following Deutsche Welle
