Lithuanian activist Antanas Kandrotas-Celofanas travelled to Belarus without court permission

Antanas Kandrotas-Celofanas, a figure linked to riots near Lithuania’s parliament and accused of assaulting activist Valdas Bartkevičius, has travelled to Minsk for what he claims are business purposes—despite an active court-ordered travel restriction, LRT reports.

Lithuanian courts confirmed Kandrotas-Celofanas did not request permission to leave the country. Vilniaus Regional Court spokesperson Lina Nemeikaitė stated: “The court has received no applications—neither from the convicted individual nor his defence lawyer. The written undertaking not to leave remains in force until the verdict takes legal effect.”

Kandrotas-Celofanas, currently facing charges in two separate cases (the riot trial and the Bartkevičius assault), told Delfi he saw no violation of his restrictions, framing compliance as “a matter of trust” that he would not flee or obstruct proceedings. Prosecutors deferred to the court’s authority on the measure.

His whereabouts first surfaced in a Telegram post by Aleksej Stefanov, a Latvian propagandist now based in Belarus, who shared a video of Kandrotas-Celofanas in Minsk stating, “As they say, we love the homeland not with words but with deeds. Well, this is my second time working in Minsk this year. Correct! There are serious cases, many problems to solve. We’ll work hard!” Stefanov claimed Kandrotas-Celofanas plans to relocate to Belarus permanently, citing fears of a six-year prison sentence in Lithuania.

Kandrotas-Celofanas’s lawyer, Erikas Rugienius, told LRT he had no contact with his client and could not confirm his location. Attempts by LRT to reach Kandrotas-Celofanas directly failed, with his phone switched off.