--- title: "Three Years for TikTok: Latvian Woman Sentenced in Riga Over Russian-Language Videos About Ukraine" description: "A Riga court sentenced Latvian citizen Tatyana Masenko to three years in prison for Russian-language TikTok videos about Ukraine. The defense called the case disproportionate and will appeal." date: 2026-11-10T19:48:46.532Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/tiktok-prison-latvia-ukraine-videos tags: [latvia, tiktok, ukraine, court-verdict, freedom-of-expression] author: "Alexander Buran" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Three Years for TikTok: Latvian Woman Sentenced in Riga Over Russian-Language Videos About Ukraine ![Smartphone with an open TikTok app against the background of official buildings in Riga](https://xab.info/media/2026/11/10/tiktok-srok-v-latvii-za-roliki-ob-ukraine/tiktok-srok-v-latvii-za-roliki-ob-ukraine-1.webp) ## Key Points - The Riga City Court sentenced Latvian citizen Tatyana Masenko to 3 years in prison and 2 years of probationary supervision for TikTok videos. - Guilt was established under Article 74.1 of the Latvian Criminal Law (public justification of war crimes); the investigation was led by the VDD, with over 20 publications identified from April to July 2024. - The defense argues the defendant acted for reach rather than ideology and intends to appeal the verdict within 10 working days. - The case has intensified discussion and signature collection for blocking TikTok on the ManaBalss.lv platform in Latvia. The Riga City Court has delivered a guilty verdict against Latvian citizen Tatyana Masenko. For publishing Russian-language videos on the social network TikTok, she was sentenced to three years in prison and two years of probationary supervision. The court found her guilty under Article 74.1 of the Criminal Law of Latvia, which provides for liability for the public justification and glorification of war crimes. The maximum penalty under this provision is up to six years of imprisonment. ### What Exactly the Blogger Was Accused Of The investigation, conducted by the State Security Service of Latvia (VDD), identified more than 20 publications. According to the prosecution, from April to July 2024, Masenko deliberately spread content mocking the Ukrainian army and justifying Russia's actions. Case materials feature specific examples: footage of a Ukrainian soldier with a prosthetic limb against the backdrop of a military cemetery accompanied by the caption "Forward to the gay-ropean future," as well as a video from a cemetery with a caption stating that "soon all of you from all over gay-rope will be gathered" for defense. ### Defense Position: "Wanted Hype, Not Politics" The defendant's lawyer, Oskars Ondrups, insisted on a full acquittal. According to the defense, the woman acted "thoughtfully and frivolously," solely to attract attention, likes, and reach, rather than to promote any ideology. In her final statement, Masenko stated that she is a citizen of Latvia, does not travel to Russia or Belarus, and does not support war crimes, admitting that "she should not have acted this way" but emphasizing that it was not her personal opinion. She also noted that the four months spent in a pre-trial detention center immediately after her interrogation by the VDD were already sufficient punishment. ### Real Sentence and Appeal Prosecutor Roberts Urdzins, conversely, emphasized that given the defendant's lack of prior convictions, the severity of the content warrants exclusively real imprisonment. The lawyer has already informed Latvian media, including the LETA agency, that he considers the verdict disproportionate and intends to appeal the decision within the statutory ten working days after receiving the full text of the verdict. ### Public Resonance Against the backdrop of this case, public discussion regarding the role of social networks has escalated in Latvia. On the public initiatives platform ManaBalss.lv, the collection of signatures for the complete blocking of TikTok in the country is ongoing. Supporters of the ban argue that the platform has become a tool for inciting hatred and promoting destructive geopolitical narratives. ## Fact-Check & Sources - [Ручное создание украшений ручной работы в ремесленной мастерской - Сток картинки...](https://www.istockphoto.com/ru/%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE/%D1%80%D1%83%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B5-%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5-%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9-%D1%80%D1%83%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B9-%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%8B-%D0%B2-%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B9-%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9-gm2205737329-623110976) - The provided source is a stock image of a jewelry workshop and contains no information about a court case, TikTok, or Latvia. It cannot be used for verification. The article is based on editorial foundations. ## FAQ ### What punishment did Tatyana Masenko receive? The Riga City Court sentenced her to three years in prison and two years of probationary supervision under Article 74.1 of the Latvian Criminal Law. ### What exactly was she convicted of? For publishing over 20 Russian-language TikTok videos that, according to the prosecution, mocked the Ukrainian army and justified Russia's actions. ### What is the defense's position? Lawyer Oskars Ondrups insisted on a full acquittal, arguing the defendant acted for attention and reach rather than to promote an ideology, and intends to appeal the verdict. ### What is the maximum sentence under this article? Under Article 74.1 of the Latvian Criminal Law, the maximum penalty is up to six years of imprisonment.