Prime minister says parliament must decide on actions against convicted MP Žemaitaitis

Lithuania’s prime minister, Mindaugas Sinkevičius, has stated that the Seimas (parliament) must decide on further actions regarding MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis, whose guilt for inciting hatred against Jews was upheld by the Lithuanian Court of Appeal on Tuesday, LRT reports.

“I trust the court’s decisions. It is up to the Seimas to decide what steps to take next,” Sinkevičius said in a comment to BNS, following the Court of Appeal’s ruling that found Žemaitaitis, leader of the “Nemuno aušra” party, guilty of inciting hatred against Jews and gross Holocaust denial.

The court increased Žemaitaitis’ fine to up to €10,000, stating that the original €5,000 fine imposed by the Vilnius Regional Court was disproportionately lenient and did not reflect the severity of the crime. Prosecutors had sought a fine of €52,250.

According to the Court of Appeal, Žemaitaitis’ statements about Jews exceeded the limits of lawful self-expression, systematically and publicly mocking, belittling, and inciting hatred against a group of people and its members based on their Jewish ethnicity. The ruling is effective immediately but can still be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Žemaitaitis has announced plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. The criminal case against him was initiated over posts published on Facebook in May and June 2023, as well as public statements. In the posts, Israel was referred to as “animals,” and it was claimed that Jews contributed to the extermination of the Lithuanian nation. A disciplinary case was also launched against him over the posts.

In April of last year, the Constitutional Court ruled that Žemaitaitis had violated his oath and grossly breached the Constitution. Following this decision, he resigned from his parliamentary seat to run in the presidential and Seimas elections, and was re-elected to the Seimas in the autumn of 2024.

Parliamentarians interviewed by BNS disagreed on whether disciplinary action against the convicted MP should be initiated immediately or if the Seimas should wait for a ruling from the Supreme Court.