Court delays terrorism trial in Šiauliai over untranslated charges

A Šiauliai court has postponed the start of a high-profile terrorism trial after prosecutors failed to provide the six foreign defendants with indictments translated into a language they understand, LRT reports.

The Šiauliai Regional Court did not proceed with substantive hearings on Wednesday, as the charging documents had not yet been translated and delivered to the accused, prosecutor Tomas Uldukis told journalists after the session. “The case was not examined on its merits due to objective circumstances—the indictment had not yet been translated into the appropriate language and provided to the defendants,” he said.

Uldukis confirmed the court verified the identities of the accused and reviewed some procedural requests before adjourning the hearing to a later date.

The six defendants—five men and one woman—were escorted to the closed-door session by around ten officers from Lithuania’s Special Tasks Unit, some armed with automatic rifles. As journalists attempted to approach, one of the accused shouted “puta madre” (a vulgar Spanish phrase meaning “fing mother”) in apparent frustration.

According to earlier reports by BNS, the group includes citizens of Belarus, Colombia, Spain, Cuba, and Russia. They stand accused of participating in a terrorist organisation, attempting a terrorist act, and financing terrorist activities. Prosecutors allege that in September 2024, acting on orders from Russia’s GRU military intelligence, they targeted infrastructure worth €5.5 million belonging to TVC Solutions, a company supplying radio spectrum analysis stations to Ukraine’s armed forces.

All defendants remain in pretrial detention. The court has ruled to hear the case behind closed doors to protect classified and commercial secrets, as well as the anonymity of potential witnesses.