The diplomat called the actions of the Latvian authorities, who arrested the journalist, a rough fight against alternative points of view and an attempt to intimidate "dissident" media.
"We have sent official notes to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and the Special Rapporteur of the HRC on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan urging them to pay the closest attention to this incident," Gatilov said in a statement.
The permanent mission expects to receive a reaction to the political persecution of representatives of the Russian-speaking journalistic community in Latvia, he added.
Kasem is a citizen of Latvia and has been living and working in Moscow for several years in the Rossiya Segodnya media group, which also includes Sputnik Lithuania. On December 30, the journalist arrived in Latvia for family reasons. According to Sputnik Lithuania, he was detained, and on January 5, the Riga court took him into custody, the journalist has already been transferred to the Riga Central Prison.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that the detention of Kasem in Latvia is the revenge of the dictatorial regimes for his adherence to principles and constitutes terror against dissent. Russian Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova called the detention of the editor-in-chief of Sputnik Lithuania an attack on freedom of speech and appealed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The head of the Union of Journalists of Russia, Vladimir Solovyov, commenting on the situation, told RIA Novosti that the UJR considers this one of the most serious violations and will send information about what is happening to all international journalistic human rights organizations.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that Kasem's detention is a revenge of dictatorial regimes. Rossiya Segodnya Director General Dmitry Kiselev said that the detention of Kasem was an act of revenge against Russian media.