Grote demonstraties van russisch-sprekende minderheid tijdens EP-verkiezingen Letland (en)

With slogans such as 'Stop apartheid in Latvia' and 'Same taxes - Same rights' a small demonstration of some 60 youngsters protested this Saturday (12 June) in the old town of the Latvian capital, Riga.

Swedish media reports that police forces soon surrounded the demonstrators, who were part of the Russian minority in the small Baltic state and so not granted the right to vote in today's European Parliament election.

Approximately one fifth of the country's 2.32 million inhabitants - known as Latvia's "non-citizens" - enjoy no political rights in the country.

Of these non-citizens, approximately 400,000 would have been eligible to vote today because they are over 18.

The lower house of the Russian Parliament on Thursday (10 June) urged the European Union to exert efforts to ensure that human rights are respected in Latvia and Estonia.

Russian MPs pointed to a large-scale infringement of election rights of a considerable part of the population in these countries.

16 political parties are participating in Saturday's election of nine Latvian representatives into the European Parliament. Polling stations close at 22:00 tonight (12 June).