Bartoševičius appeals to Supreme Court to dismiss case

Former Lithuanian MP Kristijonas Bartoševičius has filed a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court of Lithuania, requesting the annulment of court rulings and the dismissal of his case or its return for retrial, LRT reports.

According to Tautvilė Merkevičiūtė, a representative of the Supreme Court, the appeal seeks to overturn the convictions and either terminate the case or send it back to the first or appellate instance courts for reconsideration. The court will decide whether to accept the appeal for review.

Bartoševičius, 38, was sentenced to seven years in prison in May for 10 counts of sexual crimes against minors, including sexual assault, coercion of minors under 16, and causing minor health disorders to victims. The Court of Appeal upheld the verdict, stating that the guilt was proven beyond doubt. The sentence also includes a five-year ban on working with minors after release.

The investigation into Bartoševičius began in July 2023, following allegations of sexual offences against minors linked to the boys’ and youth choir “Ąžuoliukas,” where he served as director from 2012 to 2020. He also worked as a teacher at Kaunas Veršvų Gymnasium from 2018 to 2019. Bartoševičius resigned from his parliamentary seat in January 2023, citing personal reasons, shortly before prosecutors announced the investigation.