Whether Latvian MP Janis Adamsons is really, truly a KGB official rests in the hands of the politicians in Parliament.
Published:
14 March 2000 y., Tuesday
A court_s ruling told Adamsons, his supporters and foes on March 3 what they already knew: Adamsons was a staff officer in the Soviet KGB operated border guard.The court was expected to answer whether Adamsons_ involvement in the border guard put him in violation of a parliamentary rule excluding KGB officials that could have put Adamsons on the wrong side of an election law and possibly out the door.
Hearing the verdict, Adamsons and his attorney, were puzzled. He would have to see, he said, as elder supporters cheered and chanted his name in the courtroom.
Adamsons of the Social Democrats Workers Party, announced on March 6 that he will appeal the verdict to a higher court. Adamsons worked in the KGB Border Guard from 1979-1992.
The ruling will no doubt have to be appealed to gain clarity of Adamsons_ status, but politically it is unfavorable to Adamsons. LETA wire service reported that Latvia_s Way Party chairman Andrejs Pantelejevs characterized the Riga Zemgale District Court_s ruling as using of the "wisdom of Solomon."
According to Parliament regulations, a member can be expelled if he has broken election laws, one of which excludes from the body persons who have been KGB officials.
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