In court debates, the prosecutor proposed to sentence the accused former employee of the Constitutional Protection Bureau (SAB) Aigars Sparanas to three years and six months in prison for illegal collection of state secrets, LETA agency found out.
In court debates, the prosecutor proposed to sentence the accused former employee of the Constitutional Protection Bureau (SAB) Aigars Sparanas to three years and six months in prison for illegal collection of state secrets, LETA agency found out.
The case is being considered by the Riga City Court in closed sessions, but it is known that the said punishment was proposed during the debates held this week.
It is also known that Sparan’s charge was amended during the legal proceedings and he is also accused of abuse of official position.
The prosecutor’s office did not provide any comments to the LETA agency and did not even reveal the proposed punishment.
The debate will continue on June 12 at the Riga City Court in the suburb of Vidzeme.
Another criminal case is pending in this court, in which Sparāne’s spouse and former SAB employee Linda Sparāne is accused of illegal collection of state secrets. The court will hear this case on May 30.
As previously clarified, the charges were brought because during the search of Sparans’ home, some materials containing state secrets were found, which he had obtained while still working at SAB.
Sparan’s lawyer Aleksandrs Berezins assured that Sparan is not accused of cooperation for the benefit of a foreign country, the prosecutor understands the very fact that such materials were found with Sparan by espionage.
It is known that the law enforcement officers have terminated the criminal proceedings against Sparans, in which he was accused of taking a 35,000 euro bribe.
Berezin confirmed the fact of termination, stating that the case was terminated due to lack of evidence. The criminal trial has also been accepted by the prosecutor’s office.
The “de facto” program of Latvian Television (LTV) previously reported that the testimony against Sparana in the case of possible bribery was given by the co-owner of Tukuma airport, Konstantīns Soloduha, who was involved in various criminal cases of arms and strategic goods trade.
The State Security Service (VDD) detained Sparan in April 2020. In the spring of 2020, the court placed Sparan under arrest as a security measure, but he was later released on bail of 50,000 euros. The money was collected over the course of several days by a close friend of Sparan, the spouse of the deceased head of the Legal Commission of the Saeima, Juta Strīķes (JKP), and a former employee of the Military Intelligence and Security Service, Maigurs Strīķis. A part of the money was also allocated by the law firm represented by Berezina.
The strike later released a statement in which it expressed the opinion that the case against Sparana was doomed to collapse.
Sparans retired at the end of 2018.
