MOSCOW, February 10 (RAPSI) - Latvian prosecutor has demanded a six-month prison sentence for Maxim Koptelov, a local resident who was allegedly collecting signatures under a petition to integrate the republic with Russia, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday.

According to prosecutors, the defendant published a petition on Latvia’s joining Russia in March 2014. The same month, a criminal case was opened on public appeal for abandoning Latvia’s sovereignty in order for the republic to accede to a foreign state.

The Latvian resident who distributed the petition was detained on February 25, 2015. The investigation included a search and the confiscation of his computers and data storage devices.

Koptelov was charged with public calls for destruction of Latvia’s independence and its integration into another state. Such crime is punishable by up to three years in prison, community service or a fine.

He has pleaded not guilty.