Apylinkės teismas turės iš naujo nagrinėti Vytauto Gapšio paleidimo bylą

Kauno apylinkės teismas will have to reconsider the early release case of Vytautas Gapšys, a former MP convicted in the “MG grupė” (formerly “MG Baltic”) political corruption case, LRT reports.

The Kaunas Regional Court ruled last week that the district court must re-examine the decision by the Early Release Commission to grant Gapšys early release, as well as the prosecutor’s appeal against this decision. The higher court found that the district court had violated the Code of Criminal Procedure by failing to properly consider the prosecutor’s appeal and not allowing Gapšys to respond to it within the legally required timeframe.

According to the Kaunas Regional Court, Gapšys’ rights to a fair trial and defense were violated. The court noted that he was not informed of the prosecutor’s appeal within three working days, as required by law, and was not given 14 days to submit a response. The district court also failed to hold a separate hearing on the appeal, instead treating it as a response.

Gapšys has also requested that the Judges’ Ethics and Discipline Commission evaluate the actions of Judge Ričardas Juodis, citing similar procedural violations in other early release cases. However, the commission has stated that it does not assess the legality of judges’ procedural decisions or actions, which can only be reviewed by higher courts.

The prosecution had previously opposed the Early Release Commission’s findings regarding Gapšys’ risk of reoffending and its decision to allow him to serve the remainder of his sentence under early release conditions. Gapšys has attempted to secure early release three times, but courts have blocked these attempts each time, despite one favorable decision from the Early Release Commission.

Gapšys has been imprisoned since November 2023, when the Lithuanian Court of Appeal found him guilty. The Supreme Court of Lithuania upheld his conviction in October 2024, imposing a slightly reduced sentence of four years and three months in prison. He was convicted for accepting a €12,100 discount on political advertising for the Labour Party and a €15,000 donation to the institution “Meno ir sporto projektai” in exchange for promising to perform actions requested by businessman Raimondas Kurlianskis, who was also imprisoned.

Former MP Eligijus Masiulis was also sentenced in the same political corruption case, along with former MPs Šarūnas Gustainis and Gintaras Steponavičius, as well as three legal entities: the Liberal Movement, the Labour Party, and “MG grupė”. They were collectively fined approximately €1.8 million.