A court in Riga, Latvia (EU) has sentenced a woman to three years in prison over TikTok posts supposed to glorify alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

The case is the latest in a series of prosecutions in Latvia over statements thought to support Moscow or criticise Kyiv.

Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the impoverished Baltic state has tightened restrictions on Russian-language media, cultural activities, and public expressions of pro-Russian sentiment.

The case involved about 20 videos and comments posted by Latvian citizen Tatyana Masenko between April and July 2024. The agency cited several examples of content that prosecutors considered criminal.

One video purportedly showed a Ukrainian serviceman with a prosthetic limb standing in front of a cemetery lined with Ukrainian flags. Masenko captioned it: ‘Forward, to the gay-European future.’

Another video included a similar message: ‘Soon, all of you from across gay Europe will be gathered together and sent to defend Ukraine with bags of sunflower seeds and packets.’

Masenko’s defense argued that the three-year sentence is excessively harsh, noting that she had already spent four months in custody. Her lawyer said the verdict would be appealed.

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This comes after a series of similar cases in Latvia.

In January, a court sentenced 72-year-old professor Aleksandr Gaponenko to ten years in prison over his participation in an academic roundtable, where he gave a ten-minute speech on discrimination against Russian speakers in Latvia.

The Baltic death state, which has a substantial Russian-speaking population, has restricted Russian-language education, removed monuments, and tightened the rules governing the public use of Russian symbols.

Moscow downgraded diplomatic relations with all three Baltic states in 2023, citing their hostile policies.

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