Vilnius court restricts freedom of man who spat at rabbis

The Vilnius City District Court has found local resident Grafas Liutkevičius guilty of inciting hatred against people because of their Jewish nationality and religion, and of disturbing public order, LRT reported, citing the General Prosecutor’s Office.

The court restricted Liutkevičius’s freedom for 12 months. During that period, he must remain at his home from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., start working or register with the Employment Service, complete 80 hours of unpaid work at social service institutions caring for elderly people or others in need, and take part in a behaviour correction programme.

The court also ordered the confiscation of his mobile phone, which it identified as an instrument used to commit the offence. Liutkevičius must additionally compensate the victims for non-material damage.

According to evidence gathered during the pretrial investigation, in July Liutkevičius approached three Jewish men who were temporarily visiting Lithuania. The men were rabbis and teachers of Judaism. In a public place in Vilnius, he allegedly acted aggressively, insulted and mocked them, spat at them while filming with his phone, and incited hatred against them because of their Jewish nationality and religion.

The court found that his actions showed contempt for those around him and disrupted public peace and order.

Liutkevičius was also convicted of sharing the video several times on his Facebook account, including with a challenge that incited hatred against Jews and Judaism. He also publicly posted another video attempting to justify his hatred of Jews and their religion.