Police detain businessman sentenced to 14 months for violence against wife

Lithuanian police have detained businessman Artūras Daikeris to enforce a 14-month prison sentence for violence against his wife, LRT reported. He was detained on October 7 and is expected to serve his sentence in a prison.

Vilnius City District Court sentenced Daikeris in May after finding him guilty of four offences involving violence against a family member. The court said he had struck his wife in the head and face, kicked her and hit her with a handbag and other objects. He was found to have had 2.93 per mille of alcohol in his blood at the time.

Daikeris appealed, arguing through his lawyer that he had not sought to avoid criminal responsibility but objected to the type and length of the sentence. In September, Vilnius Regional Court rejected the appeal, ruling that the prison term was proportionate and not clearly excessive. The district court then sent the sentence for enforcement.

Appeal court cited repeated offences

The appeal court said Daikeris’s unlawful conduct was repeated and systematic, and that previous convictions and administrative penalties had not changed his behaviour. The judges said suspending the sentence could create a sense of impunity and that imprisonment was necessary to protect the public and prevent further offences.

The case file also included other violations. Daikeris had driven an electric scooter while intoxicated, with 2.40 per mille recorded, and had an intoxicated argument with a neighbour. On a flight, he drank his own alcohol and disobeyed crew instructions; his blood alcohol level was recorded at 2.43 per mille.

In an earlier case, Daikeris was sentenced to prison after driving under the influence four times. Vilnius Regional Court later overturned the immediate prison term and suspended it. The violence against his wife took place in March and twice in July 2025, and again on January 20 this year, according to the case file.