Latvian Lawmakers Clash Over Pension Revocation for Police Misconduct

Latvian lawmakers engaged in a heated debate over a proposal to revoke early retirement pensions for Interior Ministry system employees who commit intentional offenses. The discussion took a contentious turn when opposition deputy Edmunds Zivtiņš (LPV) made remarks that several parliamentarians deemed unethical, leading to a motion to remove him from the session, which ultimately failed.

The proposed amendments to the law "On Early Retirement Pensions for Employees of the Ministry of the Interior System with Special Service Ranks" aim to strip pensions from employees who commit intentional acts incompatible with their service. This initiative reportedly stems from an incident where an intoxicated police officer killed a man off-duty. State Police Chief Armands Ruks supported the proposal, emphasizing the need for accountability.

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People are not there, salaries are not there, social guarantees are weak compared to the army. And now, in a moment of impulse, they decide that police and all other Interior Ministry employees must be punished for what they might have done sometime, sometime in the future. So, these purest villains, what do they want to do? A person who has worked for 30 or more years in the interior structures, they want to take away their pension? These are called villains. These JV villains are!

Zivtiņš vehemently opposed the measure, expressing a sense of being "punished" without clear justification. He criticized the ruling "New Unity" (JV) party, which has largely overseen the Interior Ministry since 2003, for allegedly bringing the ministry to a state of disrepair, citing issues with staffing, salaries, and social guarantees. "People are not there, salaries are not there, social guarantees are weak compared to the army. And now, in a moment of impulse, they decide that police and all other Interior Ministry employees must be punished for what they might have done sometime, sometime in the future. So, these purest villains, what do they want to do? A person who has worked for 30 or more years in the interior structures, they want to take away their pension? These are called villains. These JV villains are!" Zivtiņš declared.

The session chair, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica (JV), reminded Zivtiņš that parliamentary deputies are also expected to maintain exemplary conduct. However, Zivtiņš continued his critique, arguing that such decisions undermine employees' faith in the state. He specifically questioned the proposal's lack of clarity regarding whether pensions could be revoked without a court decision, especially for actions occurring after retirement, such as a traffic accident resulting in fatalities. Kalniņa-Lukaševica pointed to Article 7 of the ethics code, which prohibits offensive language and requires deputies to base their statements on facts and fair interpretation, noting Zivtiņš's use of "offensive expressions."

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The deputy used offensive expressions.