Former prosecutor general reflects on death penalty debates and crackdown on Dekanidzė crime group

Artūras Paulauskas, Lithuania’s first post-independence prosecutor general and a longtime political figure, has recalled the challenges of dismantling the notorious Dekanidzė crime syndicate in the early 1990s, calling it the first major blow to organised crime in the country. In an interview with LRT Radio’s Pas Nemirą, he also discussed his stance on the death penalty and the political pressures of the transitional period.

Paulauskas, who served over two decades in politics after his prosecutorial career, highlighted the introduction of Lithuania’s legal concept of a “criminal organisation” as a key achievement during his tenure. Appointed in 1990 amid scepticism—due to his Soviet-era background and his father’s KGB ties—he faced immediate resistance from Moscow-aligned prosecutors who refused to recognise his authority.

“The Dekanidzė case was the first serious strike against organised crime,” he stated. The prosecution of Bronislovas Dekanidzė, a notorious crime boss, effectively dismantled his gang, with most members fleeing Lithuania. Paulauskas noted the urgency of the operation: Soviet prosecutors were due to arrive the following day, demanding Lithuania justify its legal stance—a confrontation cut short only by the August 1991 coup attempt in Moscow, which ended Soviet interference in Lithuanian institutions.

Recalling the early days of Lithuania’s independent prosecutor’s office, Paulauskas described a 1.5-year period of dual authority, where Soviet prosecutors occupied part of the prosecutor general’s building in Vilnius. “They set up barracks on the first floor of the Smetonos Street office, living there day and night with automatic rifles,” he said. “I was barred from entering my own workplace each morning.” Despite threats—including accusations of “malicious non-compliance” with Soviet laws, punishable by up to seven years—he remained defiant, dismissing them as “hot air.”

Paulauskas also reflected on the political nature of his role during the transition from Soviet rule. “The prosecutor general was inherently a political position at that time,” he argued. “Without clear political principles, it was impossible to correctly apply the laws during such a systemic shift.”

Though now working as a lawyer, he did not rule out a return to politics, citing the current climate as motivation. “When you see absurdity around you, sometimes you just want to step in and react,” he remarked.