The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has awarded EUR 100,000 in compensation to Saudi Arabian national Mustafa Al-Hawsawi for his unlawful detention at a secret CIA prison in Lithuania in 2005-2006, BNS reports. The court found that Lithuania was responsible for violating Al-Hawsawi’s rights. Lithuania will comply with the ECHR ruling and pay the…
Lithuania’s Prosecutor General, Nida Grunskiene, has asked the parliament, the Seimas, to remove legal immunity from MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, BNS reports. The move will allow Zemaitaitis to be prosecuted for inciting hatred against a group of people. The opposition MP posted antisemitic texts on social media, claiming that Jews deported and killed Lithuanians during WW2….
Lithuania’s Supreme Administrative Court has upheld a lower court decision not to grant asylum to Belarusian activist Volha Karach, BNS reports. Earlier, the Lithuanian Migration Department (LMD) rejected Karach’s asylum application on national security grounds, citing a report from the State Security Department (VSD), which pointed to the applicant’s links to Russian intelligence. Nevertheless, LMD…
Latvia’s Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS), which is part of the country’s current coalition government, will continue to cooperate with former Ventspils mayor Aivars Lembergs despite him having been sentenced to prison for corruption, LSM reports. Harijs Rokpelnis, chairman of the ZZS parliamentary group, pointed out that the court verdict had not entered into…
Latvia’s Riga Regional Court has sentenced former Ventspils mayor Aivars Lembergs to four years in prison and confiscation of property, LSM reports. The second-instance court found Lembergs guilty of taking bribes, money laundering, unauthorised participation in a property transaction, and falsification of documents. At the same time, the court acquitted him of charges of concealing…
Estonia will terminate a legal assistance agreement with Russia, Justice Minister Kalle Laanet announced, ERR reports. The agreement primarily concerns cases under family and commercial law. Laanet noted that the Russian judicial system was political and untrustworthy. Russia made altogether 240 requests for legal assistance in 2022.
Lithuania’s Vilnius Regional Administrative Court has upheld an appeal annulling the Lithuanian Migration Department’s (LMD) decision to revoke the permanent residence permit of a Russian citizen on national security grounds, BNS reports. Lithuania’s State Security Department (VSD) found out that the applicant had worked at a prison colony in Sakhalin until 2002. However, the court…
Lithuania’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal of French energy group Veolia and its Lithuanian partners against an unfavourable court ruling in their dispute with the Energy Ministry, Baltic News Network reports. Earlier, the Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision to accept the ministry’s lawsuit for examination. Veolia and its partners, Vilniaus Energija…
The European Commission (EC) has criticised Estonia and Lithuania for failing to transpose an EU directive on the rights of child suspects properly into national legislation, BNS reports. The EC opened an infringement procedure by sending a formal notice for failure to transpose the EU directive on procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused of…