Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the arrest of internet blogger Kirill Fedorov in Latvia

We are indignant at yet another glaring violation of fundamental human rights in Latvia where a well-known internet blogger was arrested for his assessment of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

Riga is once again demonstrating that it does not really care about its international commitments to freedom of speech and access to information.

Unfortunately, our repeated appeals to European human rights organisations receive little response. We are convinced that they have long determined their position. They remain silent over human rights excesses in the Baltics while they look for excuses to criticise other countries, the number of which is very limited due to political inclinations.

We demand the immediate release of independent analyst Kirill Fedorov and an end to this kind of lawlessness. The journalism community must be free to express its views.