Latvia opens criminal case after threats to Ukrainians on train in Switzerland

The Latvian State Security Service has opened criminal proceedings against a man who threatened the family of a Ukrainian woman on a Swiss train because of their language. He is charged with inciting national and ethnic hatred, accompanied by threats of violence.

This was reported by the press service of the department.

The suspect is a Latvian citizen who claimed to be Swiss during the conflict. Law enforcement officers opened a case on October 17 under Part 3 of Article 78 of the Latvian Criminal Code, which provides for liability for actions aimed at inciting enmity and hostility towards Ukrainians.

The incident occurred on October 13 on the Interlaken-Spitz train in Switzerland. According to the victim, Olena Dudnik, the conflict began after the aggressor heard her family speaking Ukrainian.

“The conflict arose because this character heard me and my husband speaking Ukrainian! My husband was born in Switzerland, has Swiss citizenship, and understands Ukrainian perfectly, because his parents are originally from Belarus. In the video, you can see all the threats, manipulations, and aggression towards us! What followed was physical violence, a fight, and a call to the police!” the Ukrainian woman said.

According to the woman, after the video was published online, other people who had also encountered this man responded.

“Mostly these are women with children, whom he threatened with violence, physical abuse, and rape! His name is Aleksandrs Vabiks, he comes from Latvia,” Dudnik said.

The investigation is currently ongoing. The Latvian Security Service is establishing all the circumstances of the incident and checking other possible episodes of his aggressive behavior.

As a reminder, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the Swiss authorities to conduct an investigation after a video appeared online in which a man verbally humiliated a family from Ukraine on a train and threatened them because of the Ukrainian language.

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