Prosecutor says three terrorism defendants came to Lithuania to commit crimes

Three of six people accused in a terrorism case came to Lithuania to commit crimes, a prosecutor said at the first court hearing on Friday, LRT reported. The defendants are charged with preparing to kill public figure Valdas Bartkevičius and Ruslan Gabbasov, a leader of the Bashkir national movement who lives in Lithuania.

Prosecutor Darius Šneideris said the defendants had taken different positions: some refused to testify, some admitted the charges in part and others confessed fully. Vikentij Chopozov’s lawyer said his client denied guilt.

The six defendants are Chopozov, a Russian and Greek citizen who was born in Georgia and lives in Greece; Artur Vartanian, a Georgian citizen living in Poland; Lithuanian citizen Andrej Liapinas, who lives in Vilnius; Ukrainian citizen Bohdan Asieiev, who has a residence permit in Lithuania; Belarusian citizen Vadzim Duboiski, who lives in Vilnius; and Georgian citizen Ikhtiandr Karibov, who lives in Germany. Asieiev, born in 2007, was a minor at the time of the alleged crimes.

Four defendants are in custody. The other two are under intensive supervision, and all were allowed to take part in the hearing remotely. One of those under supervision attended in person. The first hearing dealt with procedural matters, including scheduling and requests from participants.

At the prosecution’s request, the trial will be held behind closed doors because it will involve details of the victims’ private lives, Šneideris said. The case was separated from a larger investigation by the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, which is continuing. Prosecutors say that investigation currently involves 14 people suspected of possible terrorist and other criminal activities.

The six defendants face charges including participation in an organised terrorist group, financing terrorist activity, travelling for terrorist purposes, preparing a terrorist act, illegally collecting information about a person’s private life and helping another state act against Lithuania. The prosecutor said the alleged collection of private information was intended to support a possible attack at a later stage. A terrorist act resulting in at least one death carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment, he said.