Lithuania’s prosecutor general refuses to investigate Israeli student over alleged Gaza war crimes

A human rights foundation is challenging Lithuania’s decision not to prosecute an Israeli student studying in Kaunas over suspected war crimes in Gaza, after prosecutors declined to open a pre-trial investigation, LRT reports.

The Vilniaus District Court rejected an appeal by the Hind Rajab Foundation in April, but lawyers representing the group have now escalated the case to the Vilniaus Regional Court, seeking to overturn the lower court’s ruling and force prosecutors to launch an inquiry.

Law firm ReLex, acting for the foundation, confirmed the appeal but declined to comment further. A spokesperson for the Vilniaus Regional Court told LRT the appeal demands the district court’s decision be annulled and calls for a pre-trial investigation into potential war crimes.

The foundation alleges that Sean Gor, an Israeli citizen currently enrolled at Lithuania’s Health Sciences University (LSMU) in Kaunas, served in Gaza between October 2023 and at least August 2024 as part of the Israeli Defense Forces’ 52nd Armored Battalion, nicknamed the “Vampire Empire.”

According to the Hind Rajab Foundation, the battalion participated in ground operations in Gaza City and Rafah, including an attack in which five-year-old Hind Rajab and six of her family members were killed. The foundation claims Gor posted photos of himself in an armored vehicle in August 2024, stating he had spent the past ten months deployed in Gaza—evidence they argue links him to military operations in the conflict zone.

ReLex states it has identified four incidents potentially tied to war crimes or crimes against humanity, including the killing of Hind Rajab and her family, the destruction of Palestine Square, and attacks on Al-Shifa Medical Complex and UNRWA facilities. The firm is pushing for Lithuanian courts to initiate proceedings under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

LSMU has declined to comment on the allegations, stating it does not address unverified public information and defers to official decisions by law enforcement. In an earlier letter to students, university rector Rimantas Benešis emphasized the institution’s zero-tolerance policy toward any form of discrimination or violence.

The case follows a complaint to Lithuanian prosecutors by the Hind Rajab Foundation, after which Gor reportedly removed social media posts detailing his military service in Gaza. The foundation claims to have preserved copies of the deleted content.