Prosecutor claims former police officer urinated on uniform and defaced state emblem

A Lithuanian prosecutor has appealed the acquittal of a former police officer accused of defacing the national emblem by urinating on his uniform, LRT reports.

Vilnius Regional Court on Tuesday reviewed the case of Raimondas Ščerbininas, a former police officer cleared in March of charges of desecrating state symbols. Prosecutor Remigijus Matevičius argued that evidence shows Ščerbininas urinated on his service uniform, deliberately targeting the Vytis emblem—a historic Lithuanian coat of arms—warranting a guilty verdict and a €4,200 fine.

Matevičius cited video footage, submitted as evidence, showing Ščerbininas urinating on the uniform’s emblem. He dismissed the defendant’s claim that the liquid was vitamin C solution, noting that Ščerbininas had referred to the act as “pissing” in messages with a colleague. “This was not vitamin C. A criminal act was committed—mocking the state emblem, the Vytis,” the prosecutor stated.

Ščerbininas’ defense lawyer, Raimundas Lideika, called the appeal “completely unfounded,” arguing that neither the messages nor conversations mentioned the national emblem. “The context of the discussions and messages does not reference the emblem—only the uniform,” Lideika said. He maintained that the substance’s nature was irrelevant, as Ščerbininas had no intent to deface the state symbol.

The former officer claimed the act was a protest performance against the Police Immunity Service, which he accused of unjustly pursuing his dismissal. “I had no direct malicious intent—it was all directed against the police, against police immunity. […] Immunity ruined my life, and this performance was aimed at it,” Ščerbininas told the court.

The Vilnius Regional Court is expected to deliver its ruling on July 2. The lower court had previously acquitted Ščerbininas, finding insufficient evidence of deliberate desecration of state symbols.