The Latvian State Police has initiated criminal proceedings in connection with the felling of a 400-year-old forest cut down in the Rucava area, reports the Latvian Radio program "Open Files".
In mid-October, the association "Puse Latvijas" (Half of Latvia), whose goal is to preserve and popularize forest biodiversity in Latvian society, filed a complaint with the police regarding the destruction of old-growth boreal forest in the vicinity of Rucava, believed to have been one of the oldest pine groves in the country.
Rucava parish is located in the far south-west of the country, close to the Baltic Sea and the border with Lithuania.
The association asked the police to initiate criminal proceedings under Section 115 of the Criminal Law, which provides for a prison sentence of up to five years for the destruction or damage of a habitat of specially protected species or specially protected biotopes, if significant damage is caused. The law stipulates that the statute of limitations for such an offence is ten years.
Latvian Radio learned from the State Police that investigators have decided to initiate criminal proceedings regarding the felled forest in the Rucava area under Article 115 of the Criminal Law. The State Police is now assessing whether a crime has occurred.
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