The Supreme Court of Latvia has confirmed the three-year and two-month prison sentence imposed on Aigars Sparāns, a former employee of the State Security Bureau (SAB), for illegally collecting information pertaining to state secrets. The court dismissed the previous ruling of the Riga Regional Court, which had found Sparāns guilty of spying, thereby maintaining the sentencing from the original instance. This decision underscores the serious nature of breaches involving state secrets while clarifying the legal definitions surrounding such offenses.

The Supreme Court clarified that while the Riga Regional Court appropriately categorized Sparāns' actions as a misuse of his official position, it incorrectly classified them as a criminal act of espionage. According to the ruling, for a charge of spying to stand, there must be an intent to transfer such sensitive information to foreign entities, which the court did not find in Sparāns’ case. This delineation suggests a stricter interpretation of what constitutes espionage under Latvian law, potentially impacting future cases involving similar allegations.

This ruling could have significant implications for how government employees handle sensitive information and could serve as a precedent for future legal clarifications regarding espionage and state secret violations. It emphasizes the importance of intention behind actions taken by individuals in positions of trust and authority within state agencies, which may deter potential abuses in similar cases in the future.