Head of Latvian counterintelligence speaks of 'quiet deportations' to Russia
The Bureau for the Defense of the Constitution of Latvia (country's counterintelligence) "quietly" deports people from time to time, mainly to Russia, as reported by the Head of the Bureau, Jānis Maizītis.
"The main task of the Bureau is intelligence and counterintelligence, but we cannot always talk about the beginning of a criminal prosecution in this race of the security services. There are cases reported of expulsion from the country but there are also the so-called quiet deportations. In such cases, diplomatic services are involved and maybe there is an exchange of notes between the ministries of countries, but it is invisible work,” Maizītis told journalists on Thursday.
He did not report how many such deportations his Service conducted but he said that people are mainly deported to Russia. "We will not say it in public because no State does it,” he said.
Commenting on the reasons for such deportations, Maizītis said that it happens in situations that are "very close to criminal acts.” Responding to a question about whether officers and security agents were expelled from the country, the Head of Latvian counterintelligence replied that there were many different situations.