Most defendants remain guilty as court acquits Astrauskaitė in riot case

Vilnius Regional Court has upheld the convictions of most defendants in the case over the 2021 riots outside Lithuania’s parliament, while acquitting Lithuanian language and literature teacher Astra Genovaitė Astrauskaitė, LRT reports.

The court began announcing its ruling on Wednesday after examining more than 60 appeals. Most of the appeals were rejected.

“The majority of the persons remain guilty,” said Ramūnas Keidūnas, a member of the panel hearing the case.

The first-instance court had sentenced Astrauskaitė to two years and two months in prison, suspended for 18 months. She had been found guilty of participating in the riots and publicly calling for violence to violate Lithuania’s sovereignty.

Last September, Vilnius District Court found 84 of the 87 defendants guilty of rioting. Two people were acquitted, while one defendant’s conduct was reclassified from participation in riots to resisting police officers.

The first-instance court classified 17 defendants as repeat offenders. Six people were released from criminal liability under a surety arrangement, two received restriction-of-liberty sentences, and three were given effective prison sentences. The execution of prison sentences for 75 defendants was suspended.

Antanas Kandrotas, known as Celofanas and previously convicted of financial crimes, was sentenced to four years in prison for rioting. He has also been convicted in several other criminal cases. Kandrotas fled to Belarus and has not been imprisoned; Lithuania has initiated extradition proceedings against him.

Protest participant Andrejus Lobovas was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended. Combat sports representative Arnoldas Misiūnas received a one-year-and-11-month prison sentence, also suspended for 18 months.

The defendants were also ordered to pay between 500 and 2,000 euros each to the Crime Victims Fund within one year of the judgment becoming final. The total payments amount to 142,000 euros. Civil claimants were awarded about 112,400 euros in damages.

The investigation began after events outside parliament on August 10, 2021. A protest against COVID-19 restrictions that had continued outside the Seimas since morning escalated into riots. After demonstrators blocked the entrances to parliament, the Public Security Service and riot-control police were deployed and used tear gas and physical force against the protesters.