The leader of Lithuania’s far-right populist Dawn of Nemunas party, MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, has called for abolishing the country’s Constitutional Court, ELTA reports. He insisted that the court had become a “politicised institution” and suggested that its functions be taken over by the Supreme Court instead. In 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled that Zemaitaitis had violated…
A court in Estonia has found two Moldovan nationals guilty of an arson attack against a Ukrainian restaurant in Tallinn in January 2025, ERR reports. The two men were arrested in Italy in February 2025. One of the defendants told prosecutors that he was tasked by persons connected to Russian military intelligence (GRU) to firebomb…
Lithuania’s conservative Homeland Union plans to ask the Constitutional Court to rule on the constitutionality of President Gitanas Nauseda’s decree approving an incomplete cabinet of ministers, BNS reports. Homeland Union MP Mindaugas Linge argued that the formation of an incomplete government annuls the deadlines for the appointment of ministers who have not been appointed, which…
The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, has voted to strip MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, leader of the far-right Dawn of Nemunas party, of his parliamentary immunity, BNS reports. The motion passed with 101 votes in favour and none against or abstaining. Dawn of Nemunas MPs boycotted the vote. The move allows the court to continue hearing a…
The Lithuanian government has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate crimes against humanity committed by the Belarusian regime, LRT reports. The alleged crimes include forced deportations, persecution of opposition supporters, and other instances of cruel treatment, the Ministry of Justice stated. The ministry examined evidence provided by the Belarusian opposition and other sources….
Lithuania’s Court of Appeal has rejected the appeal of Jonava district mayor Mindaugas Sinkevicius against a lower court ruling that found him guilty of abuse of office, forgery of documents, and misappropriation of municipal funds, BNS reports. He was accused of having the local council pay for some of his personal expenses over 2019-2023. The…
A four-year-old boy in Latvia died of diphtheria at the Children’s Clinical University Hospital (BKUS) in Riga on 16 September 2024, LSM reports. The boy was unvaccinated for the preventable disease. Four children, including two of the dead boy’s sisters, were treated for diphtheria at the hospital. The parents, who took the sisters out of…
Estonia’s Ministry of Interior has instructed the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (MPEÕK) to sever all ties with the Russian Orthodox Church (RPTs), ERR reports. In a letter to MPEÕK’s Bishop Daniel (Daniel Lepisk), the ministry’s secretary general, Tarmo Miilits, noted that MPEÕK’s updated statute failed to meet the requirement. Earlier, the Estonian…
Estonia’s Tallinn Administrative Court has overturned the government’s decision to extradite Estonian citizen Andrei Sevljakov to the US, ERR reports. The court pointed to concerns that detention conditions in US prisons may not meet humane standards. The court instructed the government to obtain assurances from the US that Sevljakov’s prison conditions will not be inhumane….