RIGA, June 9, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Latvia said on Monday it had initiated a criminal case against lawmaker Aleksejs Roslikovs for backing Russia, an "aggressor state", and fomenting hatred in the country.

The State Security Service (VDD) intelligence agency said this followed a June 5 parliamentary debate when Roslikovs, a member of the Russian-speaking minority, was removed from the chamber.

He had shouted in Russian "We are the majority!" and "Russian is our language", according to Latvian media.

He is suspected of "providing assistance to the aggressor state Russia in action directed against Latvia and triggering national hatred and enmity," the VDD said.

If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.

The debate followed Latvia's decision, taken after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, for Russian-speaking residents of Latvia to pass the Latvian language exam or face deportation.

As of 2025, around 23 percent of Latvia's 1.8 million population describe themselves as ethnic Russian, according to the country's statistics office.

However, the requirement to pass the language exam will only apply to a small portion of the ethnic Russian population.

Roslikovs is head of the For Stability! party, which advocates for the ethnic Russian minority.

The eurosceptic party secured 10 seats in the 2022 parliamentary election.

In a video posted on Facebook, Roslikovs said the accusations were the result of his fight "for truth and justice" and that he was "defending part of the population that lives in Latvia".

Contacted by AFP, his political party did not respond to a request for comment.