Nemuno aušra lawmakers reject leaving faction after searches

Members of the Nemuno aušra political party’s faction in Lithuania’s parliament say searches carried out at the homes of several party board members have not changed their view of the party, LRT reported, citing BNS. They said they were not considering leaving the faction.

“As far as I understand from the chairman and colleagues, they feel firm, believe they are right and maintain that they are innocent,” party member Raimondas Šukys told the news agency Elta.

Šukys said the searches were procedural actions that had attracted public, media and colleagues’ attention but had not affected the faction’s work or mood. He said the faction was focused on the parliamentary agenda and bills, adding that predictions of a split or members leaving were unfounded.

Saulius Bucevičius, deputy leader of the Nemuno aušra faction, said party members needed to remain united. He said leaving or looking for a better party would not strengthen them or contribute to good future politics. Bucevičius added that he had not heard anyone discuss leaving the faction.

Vytautas Jucius said the mood was normal and that he viewed those carrying out the searches as “participants in a performance.” Lawmaker Dainoras Bradauskas also said he did not intend to leave the faction, although he described the situation as unpleasant and said it would require a legal assessment.

“Personally, no, it does not affect me,” Bradauskas said. He added that it was unclear what the investigation would lead to and that the situation brought nothing positive.

On Tuesday, prosecutors said searches had been carried out at the homes of five Nemuno aušra lawmakers: Robertas Puchovičius, Kęstutis Bilius, Daiva Žebelienė, Lina Šukytė-Korsakė and Tadas Sadauskis.

Ildefonsas Petkevičius, mayor of Kelmė district, confirmed to Elta that officers from the Financial Crimes Investigation Service had also visited the office of Nemuno aušra leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis in a municipal building.

Law enforcement said the procedural actions were part of a pre-trial investigation launched in March into the circumstances surrounding the rental of cars to Nemuno aušra by members of parliament. The investigation concerns possible fraud and seeks to establish whether a crime was committed when Žemaitaitis and Daiva Petkevičienė rented their cars to the party while also using them themselves.

Žemaitaitis has described the ongoing proceedings as a kind of “political circus.”