Defense minister says former leadership should answer for Beinoras dismissal

Lithuania’s Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas has stated that questions about the dismissal of Audrius Beinoras should be directed to the former leadership, as reported by LRT.

Beinoras, whose military service contract was not extended, has claimed his dismissal was retaliation for raising concerns about public procurement within the military. Kaunas, however, noted that Beinoras’ complaints and lawsuits had been dismissed as unfounded.

“First of all, I was surprised that this is a year-old story and that someone has now decided to write an article about it. In reality, you should ask the former minister what the actual situation was,” Kaunas told journalists on Tuesday.

“From what I know, Mr. Beinoras appealed to the prosecutor’s office and the courts, and all his complaints and lawsuits were dismissed as unfounded. I assume these decisions were lawful and reflected reality, but for a more detailed comment, you should ask the former leadership,” the minister added.

According to a report by news portal Delfi, Beinoras, who served in the Lithuanian military for three decades, left last summer after his service contract was not renewed. As former deputy director of the Military Conscription and Recruitment Service (now the Military Commandant Offices Administration), he claims his dismissal was punishment for questioning why services were being procured from the same companies and for sharing this information with the Prosecutor General’s Office.

The Prosecutor General’s Office had granted him whistleblower status, protecting those who report potential violations in the workplace, but declined to launch a pre-trial investigation into the procurements.

In 2024 and 2025, Beinoras raised concerns about public procurements related to the update of the website Karys.lt, where conscription lists are published. He argued that the tenders were tailored for a single supplier, the company that had originally created the system. The supplier was required to work with the closed-source content management system “Easy Web4,” which is owned and managed only by Fresh Media, the company that built the website. Beinoras claimed this made it impossible for other companies to perform the work, though Fresh Media denies this, stating that all necessary data for managing the site has been transferred to the defense system.

The Defense Ministry told Delfi that the tender is currently underway and that, although Karys.lt currently operates on a closed-source basis, the new public procurement stipulates that the website will function on an open-source basis.

Beinoras also faced repercussions for questioning the distribution of some souvenirs during military exercises. The Defense Ministry stated that a year ago, the Senior Officers’ Career Planning Commission assessed the needs and capabilities of the defense system and, considering recommendations from Beinoras’ direct and superior supervisors, proposed not to extend his professional military service. This recommendation was then approved by then-Minister Dovile Šakalienė.

At the time, decisions were made on seven requests to extend service, but only Beinoras received a negative response. He also received a disciplinary penalty for calling a subordinate a “loafer,” a fact he does not deny but believes the penalty was unjustified. He has appealed the penalty in court.

Deividas Matulionis, the president’s senior advisor on national security, told Žinių Radio on Tuesday that he did not want to judge who was right in this case but emphasized the need for transparent public procurement.