Court gives Kandrotas-Celofanas 60 days’ arrest for assault

Vilnius City District Court sentenced Antanas Kandrotas, known as Celofanas, to 60 days’ arrest on Monday for striking activist Valdas Bartkevičius, LRT reported. After combining the sentence with penalties imposed in other cases, the court set his total sentence at four years, seven months and 10 days in prison.

The court also recognised Kandrotas-Celofanas as a repeat offender in the case concerning the breach of public order. The ruling has not yet taken effect and can be appealed.

According to the case file, Kandrotas-Celofanas struck Bartkevičius in the face with his right hand during a protest near the Seimas in Vilnius on December 18, 2025, following a verbal conflict. Prosecutors said the incident caused Bartkevičius a minor injury and demonstrated disrespect for those around him while disturbing public peace and order.

Kandrotas-Celofanas denies the charge. He says he did not strike Bartkevičius and has argued that the case is politically motivated. His lawyer, Erikas Rugienius, asked the court to acquit him.

In June, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal sentenced Kandrotas-Celofanas to three and a half years in prison in a financial crimes case. That ruling is final and must be enforced. However, Kandrotas-Celofanas had earlier announced that he had left for Belarus and has not entered a prison. The Justice Ministry has asked Belarus to extradite him to Lithuania but has not yet received a response.

In March, Vilnius City District Court found Kandrotas-Celofanas guilty of inciting hatred against former Seimas member Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius because of his sexual orientation, as well as breaching public order. He was sentenced to one year in prison, but that ruling has been appealed and is not final.

Last week, on September 16, the Vilnius Regional Court upheld Kandrotas-Celofanas’s conviction for taking part in the 2021 riots near the Seimas and imposed a four-year prison sentence. That ruling is final.