Former Wisbech mayor to be deported after rape conviction

The ex-mayor was convicted of rape after pleading not guilty

A former town mayor will be deported to Latvia after losing an appeal after being convicted of rape. Aigars Balsevics, former Mayor of Wisbech, was jailed for six and a half years in 2023 for two counts of rape committed in 2021.

The 45-year-old’s conviction followed a lengthy trial at which he pleaded not guilty. The convicted rapist was served with a deportation decision to Latvia in 2023. Following this, Balsevics made written representations “amounting to a human rights claim”.

The Latvian national argued deportation would damage his relationship with his two children. However, Upper Tribunal Susan Kebede overturned an earlier ruling.

Although Judge Kebede found Balsevics to have a “genuine and subsisting parental relationship with his two children”, the judge concluded “that there were no very compelling circumstances outweighing the public interest in his deportation”.

Judge Kebede concluded that the factors in Balsevics’ favour including “his prior standing in the community and the benefits he conferred on his community” were “outweighed by the nature and seriousness of his offending”.

The judgement document added: “As such, I find that the appellant’s removal to Latvia, pursuant to the deportation order issued against him, would not be disproportionate and would not be in breach of Article 8.”

A Government Home Office spokesperson said: “We will do everything in our power to remove foreign criminals from British soil. More than 70,000 illegal migrants and foreign national offenders have been returned since this government took office, a 41% increase.”

In 2015, Balsevics became a councillor on Wisbech council. In 2019, he became Deputy Mayor, before eventually becoming Mayor in 2020.