Convicted former MP Kristijonas Bartoševičius to surrender at Vilnius police station

A former Lithuanian parliament member convicted of sexual crimes against minors, Kristijonas Bartoševičius, has pledged to voluntarily report to Vilnius police, state news agency ELTA reported on Monday.

According to police, Bartoševičius is expected to arrive at the Vilnius County Chief Police Commissariat on T. Ševčenkos Street after noon on Tuesday. “Police received court documents regarding the execution of the sentence and have coordinated further steps with the convict’s representative,” said Julija Samorokovskaja, head of the commissariat’s communications division.

The Panevėžys Regional Court forwarded the case files to Vilnius police on Monday after the seven-year prison sentence—upheld by the Court of Appeal—became legally binding. Bartoševičius had remained free under a written pledge not to leave the country while his appeal was pending, with his personal documents confiscated as a precaution.

The Court of Appeal dismissed Bartoševičius’s appeal last month, affirming his conviction on all charges. The ruling stated that his crimes against children were systematic, spanning two years in one case, and left no reasonable doubt as to his guilt. The seven-year sentence was deemed proportionate to the severity of the offences and his personal circumstances.

Under Lithuanian procedure, convicted individuals may choose to surrender themselves to police, as Bartoševičius has opted to do. Similar cases include former MPs Vytautas Gapšys and Eligijus Masiulis, convicted in the “MG Baltic” political corruption trial, who also reported to authorities voluntarily in recent years.

The final execution of the sentence will be managed by the Prison Service, which will determine Bartoševičius’s placement based on risk assessment, health, psychological profile, and available capacity in correctional facilities. Former MPs typically serve sentences in Kaunas Prison.

Bartoševičius’s legal team may still file a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court or request a suspension of the sentence, though his lawyer previously noted that such a move would require substantial new arguments.