Latvia’s Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has opened an administrative inquiry into financial gifts that Julija Stepanenko, leader of the pro-Russian opposition party, Sovereign Power, received from her father, Russian businessman Sergey Fedotov, Baltic News Network reports. Earlier, Stepanenko declared having received EUR 420,000 in gifts from her father, whose company has supplied equipment…
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Lithuania (LGP) has asked the country’s public broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), to explain its conduct of journalistic investigations, LRT reports. LGP sent a detailed list of 15 questions to LRT’s director general, Monika Garbaciauskaite-Budriene, asking how the company regulated secret recordings internally. The questions relate to an…
The Lithuanian Catholic Church will investigate sexual abuse of children since 1990, LRT reports. The Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference (LVK) decided to launch the investigation into crimes against minors and vulnerable adults within the church after two Lithuanian priests were charged for sexual offenses involving children. Church officials are waiting for guidance from the Holy See…
Lithuania’s Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius and parliamentary speaker Juozas Olekas resisted calls for an independent inquiry into child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, BNS reported. Earlier, two local priests were charged with sexual offences against children. Sinkevicius insisted that any investigation was up to Church authorities. Olekas asserted that courts should do their work…
All members of the supervisory and management boards of Latvia’s Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) have resigned, following a massive data leak at the agency, LSM reports. Earlier, President Edgars Rinkevics stated that CSDD’s management could not continue in office due to the scandal, DELFI reported. He has asked Latvia’s Prosecution Office to assess the…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda assured that Lithuania was not considering withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC), LRT reports. He insisted that any talk of leaving the ICC was “completely difficult to comprehend.” Earlier, the US urged allied countries, including Lithuania, to withdraw or distance themselves from the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, LRT…
The commander of Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT), Rustamas Liubajevas, has resigned, Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas announced, LRT reports. Katelynas said that serious questions had arisen about how VSAT had handled and reported a recent violent incident involving migrants on the border with Belarus. Media reports revealed that a group of migrants had attacked…
Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius urged the Catholic Church to cooperate in an investigation into child sexual abuse by two local priests, BNS reported. He called for answers on whether the Church had taken sufficient measures to detect, prevent, and report such abuse. “Moral authority mandates the highest standards of responsibility,” he stated. In the…
The Baltic States and Poland are preparing for possible Russian false-flag attacks against critical infrastructure, Reuters reports. Authorities have increased security measures at power and energy infrastructure facilities. A Baltic intelligence official expressed worry that a Russian attack could trigger “political chaos” at NATO headquarters and in allied capitals on how to respond. Latvia’s Constitution…
