Since the publication of documents left in Latvia from KGB, the prosecutor’s office has received a total of two requests from people wanting to prove they did not cooperate with KGB in the past, as confirmed by the prosecutor’s office.

Court Administration’s representative Ināra Makārova had previously said that after publication of the so-called KGB bag, many residents had turned to courts to prove they did not cooperate with KGB in the past. Those residents were told that they should turn to the prosecutor’s office first.

The prosecutor’s office has confirmed receiving two applications since the publication of the KGB bag.

The Law on the Preservation and Use of Former KGB Documents states that the prosecutor’s office is to commence an investigation no later than five days after receiving a request from residents.

The term of pre-trial investigation is two months. This term can be extended to six months by the prosecutor general if there is such a need.

Cases regarding one’s possible cooperation with KGB determine whether or not it did take place. Any facts pointing towards any forms of cooperation between residents and the KGB are used as evidence.

If the prosecutor responsible for the case concludes the fact of cooperation with KGB has been proven, he then writes a report on this. The prosecutor needs to conclude if cooperation between the person and KGB was voluntary or not.

The case is then handed to a district level court, which then reviews it in accordance with the law. The ruling depends on whether or not the investigated person worked for KGB as a freelance informer or full-time worker. The court then also decides what to do with confiscated documents and other evidence.

The ruling on the fact of residents’ cooperation with KGB comes to force once the term for its appeal has ended or of no protests or complaints are submitted.

As it is known, part of the KGB documents was published on the internet (kgb.arhivi.lv) on 20 December 2018. The rest of the documents will be published around 1 May 2019.