Marats Kasems

Marats Kasems (born 14 March 1990 in Riga) is a Latvian journalist. He is best known as the former editor-in-chief of Sputnik Lithuania. Sputnik is a media outlet run by the Russian state agency Rossiya Segodnya. Kasems later became known in Latvia because of his political activity and a criminal case related to national security.

 Early life and education 
Kasems was born to a Yemeni father and a Russian-speaking mother. His father, Fadel Kasem, was a military officer. As a child, Kasems studied piano at the Salaspils Music School.

He later studied political science at the University of Latvia, but did not finish his studies there. After that, he received a master's degree from the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.

 Political activity 
In 2013, Kasems ran in local elections for the Salaspils city council. He was a candidate for the Harmony party. After the election, a video appeared in which he used rude language. Because of this, he was expelled from the party.

In 2018, he took part in the Latvian parliamentary elections. He ran as a candidate for the political alliance For an Alternative (Par Alternatīvu). At that time, he described himself as a journalist working for Rossiya Segodnya.

 Work in Russian media 
Kasems later became editor-in-chief of Sputnik Lithuania. In 2019, the Lithuanian authorities banned him from entering Lithuania for five years. They said this decision was made for national security reasons.

 Arrest and trial in Latvia 
On 30 December 2022, Kasems was arrested by the Latvian Security Service when he arrived in Latvia. He was accused of helping a foreign country act against Latvia. This charge was based on Article 84 of the Latvian Criminal Code. He was also suspected of breaking European Union sanctions.

In April 2023, he was released from detention but was not allowed to leave the country. In July 2023, the court found him guilty. He admitted his actions and said he was sorry. The court fined him €15,500.

 Later interviews 
In August 2023, Kasems gave an interview to the news website Delfi. He said that his work for Russian media manager Dmitry Kiselyov was "dirty work" and badly paid. He also said that he did not want to return to Russia. This interview was later removed from the Delfi website.

In another interview with TV3 Latvia, Kasems said that he was interested in running for the Saeima again.

 References 

Category:Living people
Category:1990 births
Category:Latvian journalists