Agency LETA, referring to the information officially distributed by NBS at that time, wrote that on February 17, 2023, during the cleaning of weapons after classes, an NBS soldier received a gunshot wound from which he died. The military police started criminal proceedings for the incident, but at that time and also later, the broader circumstances of the incident, including in which unit the tragedy occurred, were not made known to the media.
Now the press representative of the prosecutor’s office, Ieva Shomina, confirmed to the LETA agency that the youngest officer of the NBS was accused of killing a cadet of the training group due to carelessness – criminal negligence, while handling a firearm.
The information at the disposal of the LETA agency shows that the tragedy took place in the premises of the Special Task Force (SUV). The SUV is a structural unit within the Special Operations Command. LETA confirmed to the NBS agency that at the time of the tragedy, the soldier involved in the legal proceedings was a junior officer of the Special Operations Command – a cadet in the basic training course of a fighter. A soldier acquires the status of a combatant in the Special Operations Command by successfully completing the basic training course. After the tragedy, the junior officer was retired from the service.
The criminal case was transferred to the court at the beginning of this year, the next hearing is scheduled for March 19 at 10 a.m. in the courthouse on Abrenes street. Review of cases in closed sessions. Considering that the case materials contain a state secret, the prosecutor’s office did not provide more information about the accusation to the LETA agency.
The NBS says that after the incident, a “full investigation” was carried out in the SUV, and training and regulations on the safe use of weapons were evaluated. Additional steps have been taken to improve training and safety protocols to prevent such incidents from occurring again. NBS by improving both technical equipment and procedures, as well as increasing the focus on training personnel for safe handling of firearms. This includes both regular training and stricter controls during classes and weapon cleaning.
The archive of the LETA agency shows that there have been tragedies of soldiers in SUVs before and in two cases were followed by accusations, which in the end ended with acquittals in court.
In 2020, when the Supreme Court refused to initiate cassation proceedings, the several-year trial in the case in which the SUV chief sergeant was acquitted for the death of a soldier in the Gulf of Riga came to an end. The courts of first and second instance acquitted the sergeant major, whose boat he was piloting in an accident at sea in the spring of 2014, in which another soldier died.
On the other hand, in May 2011, an SUV soldier lost consciousness after a three-kilometer run and died in an ambulance.
On May 15, 2006, during an unsuccessful parachute jump, four SUV soldiers fell into the Daugava near Riga Export Port, two of whom died, but two were rescued. Another soldier hanged himself from a crane in the port of Andrejsala with a parachute. The court also acquitted the SUV officials accused by the prosecutor’s office of this tragedy.
SUV was founded on September 19, 1991 and is a specially organized, equipped and trained unit for special operations. The motto of the unit is “The confident wins”, symbolizing that the one who is confident in his abilities and his comrades in arms wins. The symbol of the fighter is the green beret.
The tasks of the unit are to carry out special operations, including special intelligence and surveillance, direct actions and provide military assistance.
Also, the unit provides support to Latvian institutions in anti-terrorism operations, arresting dangerous armed criminals and providing security measures for high-ranking officials.
Source: www.diena.lv
