LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Lithuania to buy 36 American AMRAAMs for more than EUR 94 mln
2. Lithuania's top prosecutor wants MP stripped of immunity for LBGTIQ contempt
3. Upcoming events in Lithuania for Tuesday, October 24, 2023
4. Lithuanian formin begins Asian tour, to open embassy in Singapore
5. Twenty irregular migrants turned away on Lithuania's border with Belarus
6. Lithuania reports 719 new COVID-19 cases, 1 death
7. Lithuania mulls raising corporate income tax for additional defense funding – advisor
8. 19 Lithuanian artists' exhibition about Vilnius opens in Germany
9. Israel's universal defense system could be a model for Lithuania – president 
10. PHOs in Lithuania to hand out COVID-19 tests to educational institutions, communities
11. Lithuania under largest-ever disinformation attack by online scammers – experts 
12. Lithuania spends around EUR 230 mln on three military facilities
13. Migrant group detained in Lithuania, some complain about Belarusian officers' brutality
14. Lithuanian defmin sees corporate tax hike among options for defense funding
15. Brussels okays Lithuania's updated RRF plan, but refuses to revise tax reform deadlines
16. Brussels okays Lithuania's updated RRF plan, but refuses to revise tax reform deadlines (expands)
17. Lithuanian Supreme Court rejects appeal by Ukrainian convicted in 1991 crackdown case 
18. Lithuania to buy 36 American AMRAAMs for more than EUR 94 mln (expands)
19. Lithuanian ForMin hands in note Russian rep regarding destroyed memorial plaque to Reinys
20. Lithuania's top prosecutor wants MP stripped of immunity for LBGTIQ contempt (expands)
21. Lithuania asked for two-year tax target delay – head of EC representation
22. Upcoming events in Lithuania for Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Lithuania to buy 36 American AMRAAMs for more than EUR 94 mln

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS - Lithuania is buying 36 AIM-120C-8 (AMRAAM) medium-range missiles from the United States for 94 million euros (100 million US dollars), the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency says.

The value also includes related equipment.

AMRAAM missiles are suitable for use with the NASAMS medium-range air defense system.

The DSCA says these missiles "will improve Lithuania’s capability to conduct self-defense and regional security missions while enhancing interoperability with the U.S. and other NATO members".

"The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region," the agency underlined.

Lithuania received the first NASAMS system in late 2020, and a second phase of acquisition was initiated earlier this year.

Lithuania has also purchased NASAMS launchers for Ukraine.

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Lithuania's top prosecutor wants MP stripped of immunity for LBGTIQ contempt

papildysime

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – Lithuania's Prosecutor General Nida Grunskiene on Tuesday asked lawmakers to strip MP Petras Grazulis of his legal immunity.

She asked the parliament to prosecute the MP for publicly ridiculing and expressing contempt for a group of persons or a person on grounds of their sexual orientation.

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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Tuesday, October 24, 2023

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Tuesday, October 24, 2023:

PRESIDENT Gitanas Nauseda to meet with DEFENSE MINISTER Arvydas Anusauskas and CHIEF OF DEFENSE Valdemaras Rupsys at 3 p.m.

SPEAKER OF THE SEIMAS Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen to continue her visit to Taiwan.

FOREIGN MINISTER Gabrielius Landsbergis  to pay a working visit to Vietnam.

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Lithuanian formin begins Asian tour, to open embassy in Singapore

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis on Tuesday is leaving on an Asian tour that includes Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia.

On Wednesday, Landsbergis will visit Vietnam to meet with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son. The two foreign ministers will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on inter-ministerial cooperation.

Landsbergis will also participate in the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Programme Ministerial Forum 2023.

On the sidelines of the event, Lithuania's top diplomat will also meet with Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara.

On Friday, Landsbergis will visit Singapore to meet with Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and take part in the official opening of Lithuania's embassy to the Southeast Asian state.

He will also visit a local Lithuanian school and meet with members of the Lithuanian community in Singapore.

On Monday, Landsbergis will travel to Indonesia to meet with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

 

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Twenty irregular migrants turned away on Lithuania's border with Belarus

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – Lithuanian border guards have in the past 24 hours turned away 20 migrants attempting to cross into the country from Belarus illegally, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Tuesday morning.

Latvia reported 67 attempts at illegal border crossings on Monday, and 169 irregular migrants were not allowed into Poland on Sunday, according to the latest available information.

A total of 2,113 irregular migrants have been barred from entering Lithuania from Belarus at non-designated places so far this year.

Lithuanian border guards have prevented a total of almost 21,400 people from crossing in from Belarus since August 3, 2021, when they were given the right to turn away irregular migrants. The number includes repeated attempts by the same people to cross the border.

The influx of irregular migrants to the EU's eastern member states from Belarus began in 2021 and is blamed by the West on the Minsk regime.

Almost 4,200 irregular migrants crossed into Lithuania from Belarus illegally in 2021. However, the vast majority of them fled Lithuania once they were allowed to move freely.

 

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Lithuania reports 719 new COVID-19 cases, 1 death

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – Lithuania has recorded 719 new coronavirus infections and one death from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, official statistics showed on Tuesday morning.

The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals stands at 81, including one ICU case. 

The 14-day primary infection rate has risen to 151.4 cases per 100,000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests at 26.5 percent.

The number of new coronavirus cases hit the peak in Lithuania in early February 2022 when more than 14,000 new infections were recorded daily. Around 1.19 million people in Lithuania have tested positive for COVID-19 at least once.

COVID-19 incidence in Lithuania increased slightly in mid-September after having stayed at a low level since May. 

Some 68.5 percent of people in the country have received at least one coronavirus vaccine jab so far, according to the statistics.

 

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Lithuania mulls raising corporate income tax for additional defense funding – advisor

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – Lithuania needs to consider various options, including an increase in corporate income tax, as the country is looking for long-term sources of defense funding, presidential advisor Irena Segaloviciene says.

All proposals to increase funding for national defense can be considered at the moment, she said, but they must be clearly justified.

"All ideas are worthy of discussion, but they have to be put on the table with very clear calculations of how much revenue it will generate, what are the pros, what are the cons, when it could be done, what political parties think about it," Segaloviciene told the Ziniu Radijas news radio on Tuesday, asked to comment on the proposal to raise additional revenue for the defense sector by increasing the corporate income tax. 

She believes the business community must be consulted on this issue.

For his part, Andrius Romanovskis, president of the Lithuanian Business Confederation, told the public radio LRT last week he disagreed with the suggestion that increasing the corporate income tax was the only way to raise more funds for defense, saying that the business sector is not the only responsible for national security. Besides, it would worsen the investment climate in Lithuania.

The debate on additional defense funding is taking place as the presidential office and some parliamentarians say the 2024 draft national defense budget lacks funds to implement the plan approved by the State Defense Council to create a land division in the Lithuanian army.

By Valdas Pryšmantas

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19 Lithuanian artists' exhibition about Vilnius opens in Germany

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS - An exhibition featuring works by 19 Lithuanian artists about Vilnius has opened in the German city of Erfurt, the Lithuanian Culture Ministry said on Tuesday.

The "Vilnius Vibes" exhibition at the Angermuseum features photographs, paintings, textiles and other works, mostly by young artists with links to the city of Vilnius, with a retrospective look at the work of photography master Antanas Sutkus.

The exhibition was initiated by Lithuania's Cultural Attaché in Germany Rasa Balcikonyte in collaboration with the exhibition's coordinator in Lithuania Vilma Macianskaite.

The exhibition will be open in Erfurt until January 14, 2024.

Vilnius celebrates its 700th anniversary in 2023.

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Israel's universal defense system could be a model for Lithuania – president 

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – Israel's universal defense system and its fast mobilization of reservists due to the military conflict with the Palestinian militant group Hamas could serve as a model for Lithuania, according to President Gitanas Nauseda.

"This is a model, albeit not in all respects. It is no secret that the Israeli government is currently being heavily criticized for failing to see the signs of such an attack being prepared, and that the intelligence bodies should have detected and informed the government about an operation of this scale. But when it comes to mobilization and the universal defense system, this is definitely something to learn from," Nauseda told a TV3 program aired on Monday.

"As to the military, I believe we would be able to operate and mobilize based on a set of very clear algorithms, but when it comes to the public defense system, there is certainly room for improvement," he said.

At its next meeting, the president-chaired State Defense Council is scheduled to discuss Lithuania's universal defense plan which will define armed defense and the role of institutions and of civil resistance, according to Nauseda. 

The plan is currently in the final stages of preparation.

In the president's words, it would aim at greater coordination among different institutions, "because, I believe, there is a weak spot here; these algorithms have not yet been worked out".

"I think we will reach an agreement in this area, and I hope that everything will then pass into the hands of the implementing institutions and that we will definitely do the work that we have set out to do," he said. 

Nauseda said he was also concerned about the civil defense situation, emphasizing the need to ensure that in a critical situation, people should not only be aware of shelter locations but also "know what to do" and that "the information system should tell them very clearly who is moving where and how". 

The president said he had discussed this with Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite more than a year ago.

"It's been practically a year now; I wouldn't say that we've made much progress in this sense," he said.  

Nauseda also pointed out that real estate developers have been facing difficulties in obtaining the necessary approvals when it comes to safety requirements for public buildings designed to be used by more than 100 people at a time and for new buildings with more than five floors.

"We are still unable to finalize the special conditions, (...) which requires an agreement between two ministries. The issue has been at a standstill for two to three months now," the president said. 

"It's a matter of time, maybe things will start moving, but this an illustration of how bureaucratic clumsiness and the inability to reach agreement even within a narrow circle sometimes prevents things from moving forward," he said.

"I have the impression that the threat of war or a crisis situation is being treated as theoretical," Nauseda said. "I'm talking about how the institutions look at the work they are entrusted to do and the way they prioritize it."  

"If you think there'll be no war and that there's no need to prepare for it, then why bother with those shelters?" he asked rhetorically.   

"In words, everybody seems to agree that this is a priority, in deeds – no way," the president added.

 

By Ignas Jačauskas

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PHOs in Lithuania to hand out COVID-19 tests to educational institutions, communities

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS - Municipal public health offices will distribute free COVID-19 tests to educational institutions and communities in Lithuania, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

According to the ministry, 49 municipal PHOs across the country are responsible for distributing tests to communities. They can also hand them out to communities during local events.

The latest epidemiological data shows that the overall cumulative number of COVID-19, flu and URI infections went up in Lithuania to 1,166 cases per 100,000 population on October 16-22, compared to 1,082 cases per 100,000 population the week before.

During the same period last year, the numbers were lower as the overall number of cases stood at 819.9 cases per 100,000 population. Typically, the number of flu and URI cases peaks in January, while it peaked in December last year.

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Lithuania under largest-ever disinformation attack by online scammers – experts 

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – Lithuania is currently facing a massive attack by online scammers using the names of well-known news portals and companies to trick people into putting their money into fake investment schemes, Debunk.org, a disinformation analysis center, said on Tuesday.

This is the largest disinformation and scam attack ever recorded in Lithuania, the center said. 

"Online scammers are creating copies of major news portals and fake Facebook accounts, and inviting people to invest in fake investment platforms in order to extort money from citizens of Lithuania and neighboring countries," it said. 

The center has identified 93 Facebook accounts used by scammers to spread disinformation and misleading content.

Most of them pretend to be media channels such as LRT, LNK, Delfi and InfoTV, or companies such as Ignitis or Orlen Lietuva.

Through these fake profiles, scammers publish and aggressively promote fake news with sensational headlines.

To attract users' attention, they "take advantage of the events that generate the most public interest", according to Debunk.org. 

"Shocking but true stories are deliberately twisted to include one or more elements related to finances or material well-being," it said.

"In this way, gullible and less financially literate users of social networks are easily drawn into fake investment schemes that promise a sudden profit, while at the same time presenting a fake adaptation to a real story that the user already knows and has heard before." 

Viktoras Dauksas, a disinformation analysis expert who heads the center, said this is "an example of a sophisticated attack using social engineering, disinformation and manipulation techniques in fraudulent schemes". 

"What is particularly concerning in this case is its aggressiveness and unprecedented scale," he said. 

According to Debunk.org, about half of Lithuanian Facebook users have already seen the ads, with an average of three views per person.

Dauksas said that the illegal actions have been reported to law-enforcement authorities and that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has been contacted to have these fake profiles and ads removed. However, the social platform has not taken the necessary action, according to the center.

Ramunas Matonis, spokesman for the Police Department, told BNS that that the police have opened a number of pre-trial investigations into this type of fraud, but have so far failed to identify the scammers.

 

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Lithuania spends around EUR 230 mln on three military facilities

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – Lithuania has spent around 230 million euros on the construction of three military facilities in the country, and troops are scheduled to move into one of them in Rokantiskes, Vilnius District, in January, Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said during a visit to the Rokantiskes facility on Tuesday.

"Some 230 million euros, including VAT and all taxes, have been spent on average on the construction of the three military facilities as we have had to spend a bit more than initially planned. (…) But I think we have not gone over 8 percent, while prices (in the construction market - BNS) have fluctuated up to 25 percent and more," the minister told reporters.

Currently stationed in Marijampole, southern Lithuania, troops from the Duke Vaidotas Mechanized Infantry Battalion will move into the Rokantiskes facility in January as the facility is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

The 17.7 hectare site has almost 11,000 square meters of administrative and special-purpose buildings, including barracks, a canteen, an HQ, medical and checkpoints, 4,000 square meters of sports facilities and pitches, and a stadium.

More than 7,000 square meters of technical buildings have also been built, including warehouses, garages, a petrol station, a car wash, an equipment shelter, a parking area, a fence, as well as around 200 parking spaces.

Two more military facilities are under construction in Silale District and near Siauliai and are scheduled to be completed later this year and by April respectively.

A total of up to 2,400 soldiers or national defense system civilians will be able to work and serve at all three new military facilities.

Other locations for German brigade

Asked whether the new military facility in Rokantiskes could accommodate troops from the German brigade that would be deployed in Lithuania, Anusauskas said German troops would need different infrastructure, and confirmed that they would be accommodated in three locations in Vilnius, Rudninkai and Rukla.

"The infrastructure of the German brigade is a bit different, they have additional requirements, different from ours, because they are professional soldiers. And if they come to Lithuania for three years, their needs are different, their living conditions are different, the types of barracks are different, the accommodation conditions are different, we would need to build a bit more facilities, and the size of the barracks would be smaller," Anusauskas said.

Also, he, said, "a decision in principle has been made" on the accommodation of German troops in Vilnius, Rudninkai and Rukla, and the final locations would be further negotiated with the Germans, he added.

"We will coordinate with the German side the final locations and the scope of the construction, and their needs are different, so some of the existing projects would have to be adapted to the German conditions," Anusauskas said.

The minister could not say where the infrastructure for German troops would be built in Vilnius, adding that this would be revealed in December.

Military equipment closer to training area

For his part, Chief of Defense Valdemaras Rupsys said the headquarters of the German brigade should be located in or near Vilnius.

"Families, their lives, (...) will probably be mainly centered around Vilnius, maybe even Kaunas," the general said, adding that other units linked to the HQ could also be located in Vilnius.

In the meantime, troops and equipment should be stationed closer to the Rudninkai training area in Salcininkai District.

"The Rudninkai training area, which is under development, will mainly meet their needs, so we will need to have barracks somewhere close to provide convenient access to this training area," he said. "That decision and agreement will be made very soon."

Lithuania plans that the bulk of the German brigade will be deployed in Lithuania in 2026. The joint Lithuanian-German working group has agreed to sign the deployment plan by December 22.

Lithuania and Germany started discussing the deployment of a German brigade in Lithuania after Russia invaded Ukraine. The brigade's Forward Command Element is already deployed in Lithuania.

Germany has also led an international NATO battalion deployed in Lithuania since 2017.

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Migrant group detained in Lithuania, some complain about Belarusian officers' brutality

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – Lithuanian border guards detained a group of 14 migrants in Ignalina District on Monday as they tried to enter the country from Belarus. Five of them needed medical assistance and complained about brutal treatment by Belarusian border guards, the State Border Guard Service said on Tuesday.

Two of the illegal migrants were still in hospital on Tuesday but their lives were not in danger. The remaining ones were returned to Belarus.

Lithuanian officers detained 12 men and two women. Five had health complaints and claimed to have been beaten and harassed by Belarusian officers who allegedly hit several migrants on the legs. One foreigner said Belarusian border guards poured water on him ant Tasered him in the groin area.

Lithuanian border guards called an ambulance, and the foreigners were soon taken to a hospital in Visaginas. The two women were released after medical examinations and tests. One of them had Senegalese ID, and the other one, who claimed to be a Yemeni national, had no ID.

On Tuesday, one migrant who claimed to be Somali and had no ID remained in hospital as he was diagnosed with a sprain in his leg. A Syrian man with frostbite on his foot also remains in hospital.

Meanwhile, an Iraqi national who had ID was discharged at around midday on Tuesday after spending the night here due to beaten.

Border guards assessed the migrants' clothing and footwear and provided two of them with warm shoes. The others did not need footwear or clothing. All the migrants were given humanitarian packages containing food and other outdoor items.

Once it was concluded that the persons were not at risk, they were turned back and told to return to Belarus on Monday.

Some 21,430 migrants have been refused entry to Lithuania since August 3, 2021, when Lithuanian border guards were given the right to turn back migrants attempting to enter the country illegally from Belarus. Some 2,113 people have been refused entry to Lithuania from Belarus so far this year.

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Lithuanian defmin sees corporate tax hike among options for defense funding

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – Raising Lithuania's corporate income tax rate could be among options to raise additional funding for defense, Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said on Tuesday. 

"Taxes are the only sustainable way (to increase defense spending) that we have," Anusauskas told reporters at the Rokantiskes military facility near Vilnius. "The proposed increase in the corporate tax rate could be one of the options." 

"I can't say that businesses are always happy with it; our corporate income taxes are not low, but perhaps they are lower than in neighboring states," he added.

Irena Segaloviciene, President Gitanas Nauseda's chief economic and social policy advisor, said earlier on Tuesday that Lithuania has to consider various options, including a corporate income tax increase, to secure long-term sources of defense funding. 

She added, however, that the business community must be consulted on this issue.

Andrius Romanovskis, president of the Lithuanian Business Confederation, told LRT Radio last week that he disagreed that increasing the corporate income tax was the only way to raise more funds for defense, saying that the business sector is not the only responsible for national security and that such a move would worsen the investment climate in Lithuania.

The debate on additional defense funding is taking place as the president's office and some parliamentarians say the 2024 draft national defense budget lacks funds to implement the plan approved by the State Defense Council to create a land division in the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

 

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Brussels okays Lithuania's updated RRF plan, but refuses to revise tax reform deadlines

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – The European Commission said on Tuesday that it has approved Lithuania's updated package, worth 3.85 billion euros, under the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). 

"Lithuania has added further investments to its original plan, notably two funds that will provide loans for the clean energy transition," the Commission said in a press release. 

"One of these funds will incentivize the uptake of renewable energy by businesses, while the other will boost the transition of businesses towards green and high value-added technologies," it said. 

However, the EU's executive body rejected Lithuania's request to adjust the country's objectives in the plan in relation to tax changes.

"For four out of 48 measures related to taxation included in Lithuania's plan, the Commission has found that the reasons underpinning Lithuania's request for an amendment to the plan do not justify it," according to the press release.  

Lithuania's RRF plan will now consist of 2.3 billion euros in EU grants and 1.55 billion euros in loans.

 

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Brussels okays Lithuania's updated RRF plan, but refuses to revise tax reform deadlines (expands)

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – The European Commission said on Tuesday that it has approved Lithuania's updated package, worth 3.85 billion euros, under the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). 

"Lithuania has added further investments to its original plan, notably two funds that will provide loans for the clean energy transition," the Commission said in a press release. 

"One of these funds will incentivize the uptake of renewable energy by businesses, while the other will boost the transition of businesses towards green and high value-added technologies," it said. 

However, the EU's executive body rejected Lithuania's request to adjust the country's objectives in the plan in relation to tax changes.

"For four out of 48 measures related to taxation included in Lithuania's plan, the Commission has found that the reasons underpinning Lithuania's request for an amendment to the plan do not justify it," according to the press release.  

The Commission "has shared its preliminary conclusions with Lithuania, which now has one month to present possible additional observations on the matter", it said.

Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste told the Ziniu Radijas radio station last week that Lithuania had asked the Commission to revise the deadlines for the tax targets in the RRF plan, but admitted that the EU's executive body was reluctant to do so and "on the contrary, proposes to increase the level of ambition in the context of the fiscal package".

The Commission "sees the imperfections of our tax system as a major obstacle to the path towards Western economic prosperity", she said.

Lithuania's RRF plan will now consist of 2.3 billion euros in EU grants and 1.55 billion euros in loans.

The Commission notes in the press release that "the modified plan has a very strong focus on the green transition by devoting 37.4 percent of the available funds to measures that support climate objectives". 

The European Council now has four weeks to approve the Commission's assessment.

"The Council's endorsement would allow Lithuania to receive 150 million euros in pre-financing of the REPowerEU funds," according to the press release. 

 

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Lithuanian Supreme Court rejects appeal by Ukrainian convicted in 1991 crackdown case 

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – The Lithuanian Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the cassation appeal of Oleksandr Radkevich, a Ukrainian citizen sentenced in absentia to prison in the January 13, 1991 Soviet crackdown case. 

In its verdict which is final and not subject to further appeal, the Supreme Court ruled that the provisions of the law were correctly applied in sentencing the man.

"There is no legal basis to further mitigate the sentence," Judge Arturas Pazarskis said during the hearing.  

The Prosecutor General's Office asked the court to uphold the sentence of one and a half years' imprisonment, while Radkevich sought to be released from criminal liability.

Radkevich, who formerly served in the Soviet army, is currently fighting on the Ukrainian side against Russia and says that his military service prevented him from attending his trial in Lithuania.

Radkevich asked the court to annul the previous verdicts against him and release him from criminal liability. The man believes that the final sentence is not in line with the principle of justice and that he should be given a non-custodial sentence and be also released from the obligation to pay damages. 

Arvydas Verpecinskas, his defense lawyer, says that his client could not understand the reality of the January 1991 events due to the strong Soviet propaganda, but that it was clear that he might face liability for non-compliance with an order. 

Meanwhile, Gintautas Paskevicius, the public prosecutor, told the court in September that Radkevich, as a serviceman, should have been aware of the decisions of the country he represented at the time and should have adhered to the international legal treaties ratified by the Soviet Union.

Several years ago, the Vilnius Regional Court sentenced the man, who was 23 at that time, to four years in prison for driving a tank involved in the bloody January 13, 1991 events at the Lithuanian capital's Press House.

In the autumn of 2021, Radkevich was detained in Greece on a European arrest warrant issued by the Lithuanian court. However, the Supreme Court of Greece ruled not to extradite the man to Lithuania and he was released.

The Lithuanian Court of Appeal last year reduced Radkevich's prison sentence from four years to one and a half years.

Following the court's verdict, the sentence became final.

The court counted the five months the Ukrainian man had spent in detention in Greece – from September 2021 to February 2022 – towards his sentence, meaning that he would actually have to serve slightly over a year in prison.

 

By Ingrida Steniulienė

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Lithuania to buy 36 American AMRAAMs for more than EUR 94 mln (expands)

(Updated versins: adds the Defense Ministry's comment)

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS - Lithuania is buying 36 AIM-120C-8 (AMRAAM) medium-range missiles from the United States for 94 million euros (100 million US dollars), the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency says.

The value also includes related equipment.

AMRAAM missiles are suitable for use with the NASAMS medium-range air defense system.

The contract is expected to be signed by the end of this year, the Defense Ministry said.

"We continue to ensure that the Lithuanian Armed Forces have sufficient ammunition. The AMRAAM missiles will be meant for our NASAMS medium-range air defense systems. These advanced missiles will improve Lithuania's ability to perform defense tasks, as well as enhance interoperability with the US and other NATO allies using these missiles," Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas says.

The DSCA says these missiles "will improve Lithuania’s capability to conduct self-defense and regional security missions while enhancing interoperability with the U.S. and other NATO members".

"The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region," the agency underlined.

The missiles will be produced by the US company Raytheon Missiles and Defense.

Lithuania received the first NASAMS system in late 2020, and a second phase of acquisition was initiated earlier this year.

Lithuania has also purchased NASAMS launchers for Ukraine.

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Lithuanian ForMin hands in note Russian rep regarding destroyed memorial plaque to Reinys

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – Lithuania's Foreign Ministry has expressed it protest to Russia over the destruction of a memorial plaque to Lithuanian archbishop, politician and diplomat Mecislovas Reinys.

The Russian Federation's chargé d'affaires ad interim Aleksander Elkin was summoned to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday and was handed a note of protest over the destruction of a memorial to Reinys at a cemetery in the Russian city of Vladimir.

"Representatives of Lithuania's Foreign Ministry noted that it was not the first time that monuments honoring the victims of the Stalinist totalitarian regime were being demolished in Russia. It can only be seen as acts of contempt for the historical truth and the memory of the victims. Therefore, Lithuania's Foreign Ministry called on competent Russian authorities to restore the destroyed monuments," the ministry said.

The Russian representative was told that Lithuanian demands that Russia's responsible authorities "as soon as possible clarify the circumstances of this act of vandalism in the city of Vladimir" and bring the perpetrators to justice, and "immediately restore the plaque commemorating Mecislovas Reinys".

Reinys served as a foreign minister for six months from 1925 to 1926 and lectured at Vytautas Magnus University during the interwar period.

During the post-war years, the archbishop protested against the occupying power's suppression of the Church and the rights of the faithful. In 1947, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for anti-Soviet activities. Six years later he died in prison and was buried in a common grave.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also "expressed disappointment" that at the same time as monuments to the victims of the Soviet repression were being destroyed in one region of Russia, a memorial was unveiled in the Kaliningrad region to the Russian imperial statesman Mikhail Muravyov, who became known for his brutal suppression of the Uprising of 1863-64, sentenced many insurgents to death and sent thousands to Siberia.

Russian media outlets reported earlier this week that a monument to Muravyov had been erected in Kaliningrad near the Lithuanian Consulate General.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Lithuanian diplomats stressed that this is not the first time that monuments honoring victims of the Stalinist totalitarian regime have been demolished in Russia.

In April, a monument to Lithuanian and Polish deportees was demolished in Russia's Perm region, and in May, a Polish monument and a Lithuanian cross were dismantled in the Irkutsk region's settlement of Pivovaricha, where a Polish monument and a Lithuanian cross had been erected in 1937 in honor of the repressed Lithuanian and Polish exiles and political prisoners.

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Lithuania's top prosecutor wants MP stripped of immunity for LBGTIQ contempt (expands)

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – Lithuania's Prosecutor General Nida Grunskiene on Tuesday asked lawmakers to strip MP Petras Grazulis of his legal immunity.

She asked the parliament to let the MP be prosecuted for publicly ridiculing and expressing contempt for a group of persons or a person on grounds of their sexual orientation.

A pre-trial investigation was opened after Grazulis' public statements he made at the parliament on May 26, 2022 about members of the LGBTIQ community.

"The currently available data allow us to reasonably believe that by speaking publicly at the Seimas after a plenary session when the civil union bill was discussed, MP Petras Grazulis allegedly committed a criminal offense provided for in Article 170, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code," the Prosecutor General's Office said.

This article states that "a person who publicly ridicules, expresses contempt for, urges hatred of or incites discrimination against a group of persons or a person belonging thereto on grounds of sex, sexual orientation, race, nationality, language, descent, social status, religion, convictions or views shall be punished by a fine or by restriction of liberty or by arrest or by a custodial sentence for a term of up to two years".

On May 26, 2022, after the Seimas gave its initial backing to the civil union bill, Grazulis met several representatives of the LGBTIQ community as he was leaving the plenary session hall and called them degenerates spreading STDs, and said they should get treatment.

Grazulis has been questioned as a special witness as part of the ongoing pre-trial investigation, and the Seimas needs to lift his legal immunity for his further prosecution as, under the Constitution, an MP cannot prosecuted, arrested or otherwise deprived of their liberty without the consent of the Seimas.

This is the second time that the prosecution service has asked the parliament to strip Grazulis, a member of the non-attached political group in the Seimas, of his legal immunity.

Grazulis was also stripped of his legal immunity in December 2022 to face charges of abuse of office in the Judex case.

Grazulis helped Judex, a Kaunas-based frozen food company, to solve its problems after Russian officials found listeria in its products in 2015. In June 2022, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal fined the politician more than 15,000 euros for that and ordered the confiscation of over 3,300 euros. The Supreme Court of Lithuania is expected to deliver its final verdict in this case on November 7.

In addition, impeachment proceedings have also been launched against Grazulis for deliberately voting for another MP.

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Lithuania asked for two-year tax target delay – head of EC representation

VILNIUS, Oct 24, BNS – Lithuania had asked for a delay of more than two years in the deadline for tax reform targets when submitting an updated Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) plan to the European Commission, Marius Vascega, who leads the European Commission Representation in Lithuania, said on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the EC said it had rejected this request.

"At this stage, the European Commission has given preliminary negative conclusions to Lithuania on this request (...). Lithuania has one month to submit its comments. The Commission will make its final decision on this request after taking Lithuania's comments into account. This is a bilateral procedure between the European Commission and the member state concerned," Vascega told BNS.

Lithuania sought to postpone the adoption of the amendments to the laws on personal income taxation and social insurance contributions, aimed to reduce poverty and income inequality and initially scheduled to come into force no earlier than 2024, from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of 2025.

Lithuania had also asked for the adoption of amendments on tax exemptions and special tax regimes and the adoption of amendments on excise duties, environmental taxes and property taxes to be postponed from the first quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2025. The country also wanted this change to also apply to the digital transformation of the Employment Service.

The EC stated that the reasons for Lithuania's request to change the deadlines for these targets are not justified, but did not specify the reasons.

The tax reform stipulated in Lithuania's RRF plan aims to eliminate certain tax exemptions and special tax regimes, as well as to make the tax system more growth-friendly and reduce income inequality and poverty. 

The Lithuanian government submitted tax reform-related amendments to the Seimas in June, but the ruling coalition agreed not to push for their adoption after disputes emerged. The adoption of the law on the extension of the property tax base also stalled last week.

If the EC had granted the Lithuanian government's request on tax targets, this would mean that the reform would have to be approved by the new parliament.

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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Wednesday, October 25, 2023

VILNIUS, Oct 25, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Wednesday, October 25, 2023:

PRESIDENT Gitanas Nauseda to visit the State Security Department at 1 p.m.

SPEAKER OF THE SEIMAS Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen to continue her visit to Taiwan.

PRIME MINISTER Ingrida Simonyte to meet with EU ambassadors at 9 a.m.

FOREIGN MINISTER Gabrielius Landsbergis to meet with US Ambassador to Indonesia Mark E. Knapper in Vietnam; to meet with his Vietnamese counterpart and the country's prime minister.

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