On Thursday, 12 June, the Saeima adopted, in the final reading, a law prohibiting travel to Russia and Belarus for a defined group of public administration officials and Members of the Saeima. The Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee, responsible for the draft law, had previously emphasised that under the current circumstances, travel to Russia and Belarus is extremely dangerous.
The travel ban applies to individuals who hold a special permit for access to state secrets, are responsible for the security of critical infrastructure, or are employed at the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of the Interior, or Ministry of Justice, including institutions subordinated to these ministries or their respective ministers, and military facilities. It also covers staff of the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau, the Tax and Customs Police, officials of the State Revenue Service’s Customs Administration, as well as members of the National Guard.
The prohibition likewise applies to Members of the Saeima and parliamentary staff, as well as to individuals employed in the diplomatic or consular service, and to those working in judicial or prosecutorial institutions. The law on the restriction of measures posing a threat to national security also prohibits the transit crossing of the territories of Russia and Belarus.
The ban does not apply in cases where travel is necessary for the performance of official duties or for humanitarian reasons, provided that the individual has received authorisation for temporary departure from the Republic of Latvia. The law stipulates that a breach of the travel ban constitutes independent grounds for termination of employment.
The draft law was submitted by the National Security Committee, which stressed that Russia and Belarus are continuing to step up intelligence activities directed against Latvia, and that any Latvian national crossing the border into these countries may be of use to those efforts. Despite clear recommendations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Security Service advising against travel to Russia and Belarus for both state and personal security reasons, the number of travellers continues to rise. Latvia’s capacity to assist its nationals encountering difficulties in Russia or Belarus remains very limited.
“The aim of the aggressor state in recruiting Latvian nationals is not only to obtain information on internal political processes, planned foreign policy actions, and security measures essential to the functioning of the state, but also to involve these individuals in other harmful activities—including actions against the interests of the state—or to dissuade them from fulfilling their official duties,” the drafters of the law previously underscored.
Saeima Press Service