KNAB 007 with a licence to ....?
"Do you really think that in order to catch the eye of a secret police or KNAB, you need to be involved in something? In some crime, or at least, a half-crime? Well - or at least, you should maybe have the right circle of particular friends, relatives and acquaintances? And if you have none of this, there will never come a time in your life when your private conversations suddenly will become not so private, and you yourself will never discover some men waiting for you at the door of your house with handcuffs and official badges in their hands, some of whom, as described, for example, in some testimony, which we learned in the course of creating this book, “had lifted a chair which happened to be outside and tried to knock out the glass door, screaming at me. I took my camera and started taking shots of these actions, and then that official threw the chair away and showed a badge with insignia through the glass door, using crude four-letter words (including such Russian words as: “You bitch - you better take pictures of this!”), informing me that he was from the KNAB”?"
This is an excerpt from the book "The Other Kitchen" written by famous Latvian journalists, Lato Lapsa (picture) and others, describing the nearly unlimited powers of "special services". See more examples...
Another KNAB story was published on 12.09.2012 by the Independent Morning Newspaper (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze), "The CPCB/KNAB demonstrates its power to boarding school and judges":
"In this case, the CPCB/KNAB had activated the whole repressive machinery at its disposal - wiretapping, surveillance, psychological pressure; volunteers were invited to help in this wide-scale operation, which, from the standpoint of the special services, was quite a risky action, because of the danger that the secret agents might be exposed. Here is a question - why would one need to run this terrible machinery against such completely innocent and apolitical institution, as the Riga City Music Boarding School, attended by orphans and children in need, happens to be?"
The dangerous Music Boarding School
The Deputy Director of the Music Boarding School, in charge of logistics lost his health and position due to the criminal proceedings initiated by the KNAB. After one and a half year-long crackdown , the KNAB investigator admitted that the suspicions were not confirmed, and “based upon the presumption of innocence principle,” the criminal proceedings were terminated...." Two other victims from the school had similar experiences and were brought to court!
During the trial, several witnesses suddenly started to testify differently than during the pre-trial investigation at the CPCB/KNAB. It turned out that the witnesses were put under very severe pressure. The prosecutor wanted the statements about the pressure not be shown in court records, however, judge Strazds remained firm- everything that had happened in the courtroom, should be reflected in the court records. As to his personal fate, the judge committed the next wrong thing – he invited to testify at the court hearing the two influential CPCB/ KNAB - Lienite Shikore and Agita Znotina. One should not wait long for the CPCB/KNAB reaction – the KNAB came to the judge’s house with search..."
Since the Latvian business woman Inara Vilkaste went to the police to complain about an extortionist with obviously excellent relations to the KNAB, not only she, but her entire family came into the focus of the special service. Hundreds of civil and criminal cases involving them were opened - by KNAB. Nearly every 2nd day Ms Vilkaste was summoned either to KNAB or on its intitiative to other police institutions or court, for investigation or testimony as a witness. In spring 2007 a attempt to murder her ex-husband by a car bomb was committed. Mr.Vashkevich stayed alive, but was severely injured. Few minutes later witnesses saw a high-ranking officer of special service at the crime scene. He explained at questioning that he was there “by occasion”. On the day of the explosion KNAB was conducting secret surveillance of Mr. Vashkevich, the results of which have never been disclosed! The lawyer of the family disappeared in 2010 without any trace.
In November 2012 KNAB conducted a search in the home of Ms Vilkaste, based on a fabricated allegation against Mr.Vashkevich, but the target was obvious: " take everything – also everything referring to Inara” was the instruction of the KNAB investigator A.Ringo to the searchers. After the home search was declared illegal by the court, KNAB did not return all illegally confiscated items, but fabricated a yet another new case based on one of them! And in addition, KNAB tried to separate the lawyers (again?) from the family, summoning them as witnesses and trying to forbid them to defend their clients!
A former KNAB investigator, Ruslan Balakleiskis, tells the public in an interview for LTV newservice very frank: "If a resident wants to buy something cheaper than he could at the shop, welcome to KNAB, a clear unregistered entrepreneurship, ... these products are bought by KNAB management itself." The only open question is, wherefrom did they buy "cheap" products? Can one find here the reason, why Mr. Vashkevich had to leave his office where he fought smuggling?
Valdis Dombrovskis, Vienotiba Party, Prime Minister of Latvia, in charge of supervision of KNAB
KNAB seems also to be deeply involved in Latvian politics. The same former KNAB investigator Balakleiskis answered a question if he believes that KNAB is politically neutral, with a confident "No".
The daily newspaper Diena wrote on June 25, 2012: "It is very possible that the idea about Vienotiba party was born at KNAB. Vienotiba party was founded only on August 6 2011. But, on January 29 2009 parties Jaunais laiks, Pilsoniska savieniba and Sabiedriba citai politikai had signed an agreement for cooperation - shortly after a poster "Vienotiba is the force!" appeared on the wall of then-deputy head of KNAB Alvis Vilks' office...
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