Lawyer seeks accountability after Marijampolė assault investigation is closed

The lawyer representing a girl assaulted in Marijampolė says he will seek accountability for anyone legally responsible for encouraging the violence, after prosecutors closed the pre-trial investigation. LRT reported that lawyer Gintaras Černiauskas would review the decision before deciding whether to challenge it.

Černiauskas said he would not appeal the closure if it applied to minors who cannot be prosecuted because of their age. But he said people who encouraged the assault and are old enough to be held responsible should face consequences.

Prosecutors said the two minors identified as having carried out the assault and encouraged the conflict were both under 16. They said the youths had not reached the age at which they could be held criminally responsible for causing physical pain or minor health impairment, or for disrupting public order.

Under Lithuanian law, criminal responsibility can begin at 14 for murder and certain other crimes, while some offences carry a minimum age of 16. Prosecutors said the decision to end the investigation and relevant materials would be sent to the Marijampolė mayor to consider supervision measures for the minors, and to the regional police to consider administrative proceedings against their parents. The decision can be appealed to a higher-ranking prosecutor.

The investigation began on July 16. Investigators examined the scene and video footage, questioned more than 30 witnesses and gathered other evidence. They found that the girl had been struck dozens of times and taken to a medical facility after the incident.

Other young people at the scene watched and filmed the assault. Footage circulated on social media that evening. The video showed a girl sitting on a bench in Marijampolė’s Poetry Park being hit on the head with a phone and kicked, while those nearby watched and laughed.