Lithuanian supreme court rules lawyers orchestrated false confession in drug case

The Lithuanian Supreme Court has upheld a ruling that two former Klaipėda lawyers acted criminally by coercing an innocent man to falsely confess to a major drug offence, marking the first case in Lithuania where such a forced confession has been classified as human trafficking.

The court’s three-judge panel confirmed that the lawyers, Marius Navickas and Aivaras Surblys, arranged for a socially vulnerable man from Panevėžys to take responsibility for over one kilogram of cocaine found in 2017 at the home of Virgilijus Valius, a resident of Klaipėda district. The man, Anatolijus Greina, was promised €30,000 in exchange for admitting to a crime he did not commit and serving a prison sentence, according to case materials reported by LRT.

Judge Rima Ažubalytė, announcing the decision, stated that the forced assumption of guilt for a serious crime—carrying a potential 10- to 15-year prison term—constituted human trafficking under Lithuania’s Criminal Code. “The list of exploitation forms in human trafficking is not exhaustive,” she noted, emphasising that the victim faced prolonged imprisonment in a highly restrictive environment.

Valius, the original suspect, had faced charges after authorities discovered six sealed tins containing cocaine in his home. Investigators later uncovered that his defence lawyer, Surblys, along with Navickas and another individual, had recruited Greina to falsely confess. Greina was detained for 14 months before the scheme unravelled.

The Supreme Court found that Navickas, while ostensibly acting as Greina’s defence attorney, had instead orchestrated a “fictitious defence” to shield Valius from prosecution. “Navickas resolved all issues related to Greina’s participation in the criminal process not to uphold Greina’s interests, but to help Valius evade responsibility,” the court stated. Both lawyers were found to have violated professional ethics and their oaths as attorneys.

Navickas received a €40,000 fine for abuse of office, while Surblys was sentenced to nine months in prison for both abuse of office and human trafficking. The ruling underscores that such exploitation—even when not involving sexual or labour coercion—can qualify as trafficking under Lithuanian law.