Antanas Kandrotas attends court hearing in Vilnius remotely

Antanas Kandrotas, a convicted financial criminal also known by the alias Celofanas, participated remotely in a criminal case hearing at Vilnius City District Court on Monday, as he is currently outside Lithuania, LRT reports.

The court secretary announced at the start of the session that Kandrotas would join via remote connection. He was visible on screen during the proceedings.

Kandrotas is accused of assaulting public figure Valdas Bartkevičius in a public place during a protest near the parliament building in December of last year. The case was reopened by the court on April 22.

In early May, it emerged that Kandrotas had left for Belarus. On June 11, the Lithuanian Court of Appeals sentenced him to two and a half years in prison in a separate criminal case, a sentence he is not serving due to his absence from the country. Police had issued a domestic search for Kandrotas and indicated plans to request an international search.

Kaunas County Police told ELTA on Monday that both public and non-public measures are being taken to locate the convicted individual. Authorities declined to provide further details to avoid alerting Kandrotas to their actions.

The hearing was held in a hybrid format, with some participants present in the courtroom and others, including Kandrotas, his lawyer Erikas Rugienius, and one witness, joining remotely. Other witnesses attended in person and were questioned in the courtroom.

During the hearing, Kandrotas accused a witness of lying and asked several questions, one of which prompted Judge Ilona Mateikienė to intervene. Kandrotas asked the witness, “Are you gay, you…” The judge requested that Kandrotas refrain from using such language and maintain order in the courtroom.

Kandrotas has previously denied the charges, stating that he attended the protest as a journalist for the publication Respublika and was addressing the crowd. He claimed that Bartkevičius and event host Viačeslavas Mickevičius had shared a video titled “How to obstruct vatniks” on social media before the protest and were actively searching for him.

Kandrotas insisted he did not strike Bartkevičius and alleged that the public figure had instead hit him. Prosecutors, however, presented a different account, stating that on the evening of December 18 last year, around 7 PM, a verbal conflict arose between Kandrotas and Bartkevičius during the protest “Hands off free speech” in Independence Square in Vilnius. Kandrotas allegedly intentionally punched Bartkevičius in the face with his fist, causing minor health issues.

Kandrotas faces charges of public order violation. According to the Criminal Code, those who demonstrate disrespect to others or the environment through aggressive behavior, threats, malicious intent, or vandalism in a public place, thereby disrupting public peace or order, may be punished by community service or a fine.