The Russian Embassy in Latvia. Photo credit: World news / youtube.com
The Russian embassy in Latvia receives a huge number of letters where people complain about the unlawful actions of the authorities of the Baltic republic, Izvestia reports. Riga continues to implement amendments to the immigration law, Chargé d'Affaires of Russia in Latvia Oleg Zykov noted, and they are discriminatory in nature, he clarified.
The majority of complaints come from elderly people who to missed the deadline for submitting documents to legalize their stay in Latvia.
Although Riga was forced to give the Russians a two-year deferment, as its decision caused widespread public outcry and protests from human rights activists, this did not improve the situation. Firstly, this amendment does not apply to everyone, and secondly, it does not solve the situation, but freezes it, the diplomat noted. According to him, the threat of deportation looms over more than 1,000 Russians.
The document released by the Human Rights Committee calls it unacceptable to expel people who have lived in a given country for more than a decade without compelling reasons.
The Russian diplomat promised that the embassy will continue to provide Russians with the necessary consular and advisory support.
Riga intends to deport at least 1,213 Russians from the country. According to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, these people had not applied for a residence permit in Latvia until the end of November.
A year ago, the Latvian parliament voted for amendments to the migration law, which introduced a mandatory exam on knowledge of the Latvian language for Russians living in the country. Deportation may affect many elderly people who have lived in Latvia most of their lives.
Russkiy Mir
