Andrejs Pagors, a member of the Latvian Russian Union political party, was detained in Riga on Thursday for picketing the annual march of SS legionnaires with anti-Nazi slogans, Latvian media reported
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2023) Andrejs Pagors, a member of the Latvian Russian Union political party, was detained in Riga on Thursday for picketing the annual march of SS legionnaires with anti-Nazi slogans, Latvian media reported.
A procession of legionnaires from the SS, a paramilitary organization controlled by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, and their supporters takes place in the Latvian capital every year on March 16, with awards and symbols of Nazi Germany displayed during the march. The event has been condemned by many countries, including Russia, for glorifying Nazism.
This year, in protest against the procession, Pagor went to the Freedom Monument in Riga, holding a banner with the inscription: "Latvian legionnaires of the Waffen SS swore allegiance to Adolf Hitler! A division of the Latvian Legion killed 160 Latvians near the village of Zleki in (the district of) Kurzeme," the Baltnews news agency reported.
After his solitary picket, the Latvian Russian Union member was detained by several police officers and, possibly, taken into police custody to testify, the report said.
Meanwhile, the Delfi news outlet reported that the number of march participants was lower than in previous years, although several lawmakers from the National Alliance party, which is included in the ruling coalition, had taken part in the event.
An application for the march stated that up to 100 people would take part in the event, and there were no applications for other protests on March 16, the report said.
In 2022, the Latvian Anti-Nazi Committee non-profit organization filled an application to hold an event in Riga against the justification of Waffen SS crimes, but the Riga City Council rejected it.
